The Human Touch

Think science isn't very "touchy feely?" Think again. 

Researchers, engineers and students in the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Biomechatronics Lab are building artificial limbs to be more tactile or sensitive to touch.

With support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the team led by mechanical engineer, Veronica J. Santos, Ph.D. is creating a touch language translatable by computers and humans. The researchers test robotic touch with mechanical pressure sensors that interact with objects of various shapes, sizes and textures. With cutting edge instrumentation, Santos' team is able to translate touch interaction into computer data.

Santos' results will be used to for a formula or algorithm that allows the computer to identify patterns among the items in its library of tested experiences and things it has never felt before. This work will help researchers further develop artificial haptic (sense of touch) skills and provide robots and human prostheses with the "human touch."

Go Science!

Can You Hear Me Now?

 Hearing is an amazing biological and physical process. The average human can hear in the range of 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz (kHz). Normal adult hearing usually cuts off between 10-12 kHz, while children and teenagers can hear into the "mosquito" range of 14-18 kHz. 

How do we compare to other creatures? A dog's hearing depends on its breed and age, but dogs can generally hear in the range of 40 Hz to 60 kHz, while bottlenose dolphins hear tones within the frequency range of 1 to 150 kHz. Wow!

Most bats need super sensitive hearing to make up for their poor eyesight particularly when hunting insects. Their hearing range is between 20 Hz and 120,000 Hz. A bat makes a very loud, short sound and assesses the echo when it bounces back. They use this echolocation to navigate and find food.

So next time you're surprised when something swoops down near you (e.g., mosquito, bat, etc.) remember, it was probably making sounds long before it arrived, you just couldn't hear them.

Cooking Increases Brain Size

A new study reported in the online Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences offers new thoughts that cooking food made it possible for early humans to develop larger brains. The cooked food was easier to digest and made it possible for more nutrients to be available to brain cells.

Scientists have long believed there is a trade off between body size and brain cells since the brain needs about 20% of the body's total resting metabolic energy (although it's only about 2% of the body's weight.) So there just wasn't enough time in a day to gather and take in enough raw nutrients for early humans.

Hmm...food for thought when you're sitting and watching the Super Bowl game with all the cooked and snack food at your fingertips. Will bigger brains win out?