Sounds reach one of our ears first and then the other. The time delay in between is too short for us to perceive but it is long enough for the brain to process to determine the source of the sound. This deceptively simple feat is denied to frogs, lizards and birds because the distance between their eyes is too small. Well, then, how do they hear? Elementary. They have an air-filled cavity that connects their two eardrums. These are called “internally coupled ears” or ICE. This “tunnel in the head” is clearly visible when light falls into one ear of a gecko and then shines out of the other ear. Using a mathematical model, biophysicist Leo van Hemmen and his team discovered that over 15,000 species have developed two different methods of hearing with ICE. Internal and external sound waves are superimposed in ICE. In higher frequencies, the time difference can no longer be evaluated. Here, another property of the signal comes into play: the difference in the amplitude — the loudness of the sound perceived by the ears. “The amplitude difference occurs solely through the coupling of the two ears.”

SNEAK PEEK

1. Perk up your ears!

Often we ask children to “perk up” their ears. Turns out, kids can literally do it the way cats and dogs do. The electrical activity of ear muscles points to the direction of their auditory attention. Who described it as a 25-million-year-old “neural fossil” still existing in our brains?

1. Neuro- and computer-scientist Dr. Daniel J. Strauss (SNNU)

2. Reindeers’ eyes

In summer when the sun never sets in the frozen tundra, the colour of Arctic reindeers’ eyes is gold, which allows in as much light as possible. When it’s dark for 24 hours a day in the winter, their eyes turn deep blue, which reflects very little light out of the eye? Who noted it?

2. Dr Glen Jeffery (UCL Institute of Ophthalmology)

3. Eyeing a red light

Retinal ageing causes visual decline. Staring at a deep red light of a specific wavelength for three minutes a day can significantly improve declining eyesight. Who evinced that the light can be absorbed by mitochondria in the retina that supply energy for cellular function?

3. Dr Glen Jeffery again!

4. An eyes-touch link

Tiny eye movements can hinder our ability to discriminate touch stimuli, and suppression of these movements before an anticipated touch can enhance the same ability. Who proposed that this connection reveals “a surprising link across perception, cognition and action”?

4. Stephanie Badde (as an NYU post-doctoral researcher)

5. Unlikely in a pipe

A pipe used by Native Americans more than 1,400 years ago was found to contain residue from a non-tobacco plant (Rhus glabra). The plant may have been mixed with tobacco for its medicinal qualities and to improve the flavour of smoke. Who examined the residue?

5. Korey J. Brownstein (now at the University of Chicago)

6. Buying in excess

Buying could be a strategy that we use to compensate for our deficiencies. Those who are uncertain about their self-worth are more likely to succumb to excessive buying or shopping and to develop unhelpful beliefs around it. Who devised a way to scale excessive buying?

6. Clinical psychologist Michael Kyrios (with Dr Dan Fassnacht)

7. Green materialists

Reduced consumption and “green buying” are two pro-environmental options. However, “green buying” allots enough space for the materialistic fulfilment of one’s desire to accumulate new items. In short, there are green materialists! Who came up with evidence for this?

7. University of Arizona researcher Sabrina V Helm

8. How close fear is

Your brain handles a perceived threat differently depending on how close it is to you. If it is far away, you get time to think over it. But up close, with little time left, your animal instincts jump into action. Who connected it with the development of post-traumatic stress disorder?

8. Kevin LaBar, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University

9. Climate, risk factor

Appreciating the security impacts of climate change is crucial. In a scenario of 2 degrees Celsius of warming beyond preindustrial levels, the influence of climate on violent armed conflicts would more than double, rising to a 13% chance. Who came up with the figures?

9. Katharine J. Mach (Stanford Environment Assessment Facility)

QUIZ No. 962

1. Beer fed the creation of complex political organisations in the past. Who studied it?

– Ella Cara Deloria
– Dr. Patrick Ryan Williams
– Raymond J. DeMallie

1. Dr. Patrick Ryan Williams

2. Who wrote well of nicotine but added that it is not to encourage people to smoke?

– Leone N. Farrell
– Dr Ursula Winzer-Serhan
– Pamela J. Bjorkman

2. Dr Ursula Winzer-Serhan

3. Who described a research on carbon as evidence that ‘Diamonds Aren’t Forever’?

– Dr Cynthia J. Ebinger
– William Branwhite Clarke
– Roderick Murchison

3. Dr Cynthia J. Ebinger

4. ‘I am writing these notes in the Soyuz with a cheap ballpoint pen.’ Who wrote that?

– Pedro Duque
– Michael Edward Fossum
– Yelena V. Kondakova

4. Pedro Duque

5. Which photojournalist gave the name ‘PhotoSynthesis’ to a book on photography?

– Bryan Moss
– Louis D. Blanquart-Evrard
– Rudolf Franz Lehnert

5. Bryan Moss