Translate Sound to the Brain

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Bishop Sand

Sound gets funneled down your ear canal and… then what happens? You’ve heard about drums, tiny bones, and a spiraling hearing sensor but not like this. Hear how sound is translated to the brain from people who study our hearing (and speaking) systems for a living.
This is the fifth piece in a series about the information found in sound.Contributors to this piece can be found here.

In this episode Prof. Shamma talks about “beams” in the inner ear that vibrate in response to their specific frequency. Here is another scientist, Prof. Christopher Shera, explaining the same interesting mechanism:

SHAZAM!

Posted on March 20, 2013 by Bishop Sand

Avery Wang helped found the app, Shazam. This app is now part of our cultural consciousness as a flagship app of all smartphones because it is so simple – hold up your phone to a song you hear and identify it with this app. It’s almost magical. This is the story of how Shazam began (with the many hurdles Wang overcame) and how it works.

This is the fourth piece in a series about the information found in sound. Contributors to this piece can be found here.

For those of you who want to more details about Wang’s audio search algorithm, check out his paper here.

A Musical Brain Tease

Posted on February 18, 2013 by Bishop Sand

Don Hodges studies music psychology. Here, he discusses one of his latests studies that gives us some insight into what our favorite song (and music in general) means to us on a neuronal level. He then paints a beautiful encompassing view of how humans appreciate music. Listen below.

This is the third piece in a series about the information found in sound. Contributors to this piece can be found here.

The Animal Orchestra Is Quieting

Posted on January 20, 2013 by Bishop Sand

Bernie Krause is a musician who has drastically shifted his career to study natural soundscapes. He’s discovered information hidden in these natural sounds that are telling for animals and us. Hear how animals sound like instruments in an orchestra and how they are quieting.

Two spectrograms of Lincoln Meadow can be found below:

This is the second piece in a series about the information found in sound. Contributors to this piece can be found here.

Sound is…

Posted on December 28, 2012 by Bishop Sand

A fetus begins to respond to sound at 18 weeks old. We are bathed in sound every day of our lives and yet it isn’t clear what exactly the phenomenon is because it isn’t as visible as, say, light. In this small episode we dissect the outward physical description of sound and also touch on the main aspects of the subjective perception of sound. Learn why instruments and voices are recognizable and why we can learn to echolocate.

This is the first piece in a series about the information found in sound. Contributors to this piece can be found here.

Simple Soup

Posted on November 19, 2012 by Bishop Sand

In this special short episode, Chef Gift gives us a lesson in making soup. Oddly, the gist of the recipe is similar to primordial soups in the lab.

See Chef Gift’s bio sketch here.

Searching Space

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Bishop Sand

In the last installment of our Origins of Life series, we join people for their first look at Saturn alongside astrophysicists who gaze up at the universe for a living. Learn the new techniques scientists use to FIND planets in other solar systems (exoplanets) and hear their thoughts about life in the deep void of space.

See contributors to this episode here.

The Story of Earth

Posted on September 26, 2012 by Bishop Sand

The secrets of earth’s early history (about 4 billion years ago and called the Hadean period) have only recently been discovered thanks to the efforts of scientists like Steve Mojzsis. In this episode, Mojzsis talks about what it must have been like on the “peculiar” early earth. Other scientists weigh in on how life changed the planet. Finally, a perspective of the future of the ever-changing planet.

Contributors to this episode can be found here.

The Route to the Origin of Life

Posted on September 7, 2012 by Bishop Sand

How to build life from scratch… seriously! Hear the various steps in the process. Warning: This episode is very chemically technical.

Contributors to this episode can be found here.

Origins Research Motives

Posted on August 23, 2012 by Bishop Sand

Life is everywhere and we have a tough time killing it when sending our spacecraft off to Mars. However, in the lab, life is elusive. We look at the problems in origin of life research and when faced with such difficulties, why scientists persist in this research program. Surprisingly profound answers in this fourth installment of our Origins topic.

Contributors to this piece can be found here.