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Stethoscopes are a ubiquitous and cost-effective tool for medical diagnosis, but they open the door to subjectivity and can experience high levels of environmental noise. This makes it difficult to properly diagnose lung abnormalities, like COVID-19, by listening to sounds from the body. James West, at Johns Hopkins University, has been developing a digital stethoscope equipped with artificial intelligence for accurate lung diagnoses. He will discuss its opportunities and obstacles at the 179th ASA Meeting.

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During tornado formation, sound waves are produced at very low frequencies. And if your name is GLINDA, you do not need to be in Oz to hear them. Brandon White, at Oklahoma State University, is part of an engineering team that developed the Ground-based Local Infrasound Data Acquisition (GLINDA) system for the acoustic measurement of weather phenomena. He will discuss its design and capabilities at the 179th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, Dec. 7-10.

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Using an imitation “ear” modeled on the organs that mosquitos use to hear, researchers have identified a mosquito’s species and sex using sound -- just like mosquitos do themselves. The researchers hope this bioinspired detector could someday be used in the field to save lives by aiding in more selective pesticide use and possibly preventing mosquitos from mating. A presentation of the new research will be given as part of the 179th ASA Meeting.

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Researchers in Poland have created smart road signs that use built-in Doppler radar, video, and acoustic radar and weather stations to monitor road traffic and conditions to warn drivers in real-time of hazards and prevent collisions on highways. During the 179th ASA Meeting, Dec. 7-10, Andrzej Czyzewski will describe his applied research project to develop autonomous road signs with built-in acoustic radar devices.

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Press conferences at the 179th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of American will cover the latest in acoustical research, from the impact of face masks to the beating of mosquito wings, and will be held virtually Dec. 9-11. To ensure the safety of attendees, volunteers, and ASA staff, Acoustics Virtually Everywhere will be hosted entirely online.

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The Acoustical Society of America will hold its 179th meeting Dec. 7-11. To ensure the safety of attendees, volunteers, and ASA staff, the December meeting, “Acoustics Virtually Everywhere,” will be hosted entirely online. The conference brings together interdisciplinary groups of scientists spanning physics, medicine, music, psychology, architecture, and engineering to discuss their latest research -- including research related to COVID-19.

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The Acoustical Society of America continues its series of virtual talks featuring acoustical experts as part of the International Year of Sound celebration. For the third presentation in the series, Nicole Holliday, an assistant professor of linguistics at the University of Pennsylvania, will examine how our voices convey meaning in their tone and what listeners perceive. Specifically, her virtual talk on Aug. 20 will reflect on what language can tell us about identity and inequality.

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The Acoustical Society of America continues to host virtual events in August as part of the International Year of Sound. The ASA Student Council will host Virtual Student Summer Talks for science students to present their research on topics ranging from acoustical oceanography to speech communication and Andrew Morrison will discuss how the acoustical physics of the steelpan helps machine learning algorithms process large datasets. All events are open to the public, and admission is free.

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The Acoustical Society of America continues to host virtual events in August as part of the International Year of Sound. The ASA Student Council will host Virtual Student Summer Talks for science students to present their research on topics ranging from acoustical oceanography to speech communication and David Carreon Bradley will discuss how sounds in religious spaces are essential to the worship experience. All events are open to the public, and admission is free.

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The Acoustical Society of America is hosting a series of experts to talk about how sounds affect everyone in different ways as part of the celebration of the International Year of Sound. The series features acoustic scientists from a range of backgrounds who will stimulate the understanding of the important role that sound plays in all aspects of our society. Three acoustic experts will be making their presentations virtually, and ASA encourages media, scientists, audio enthusiasts, students, educators and families to tune in. All events are open to the public, and admission is free.

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Ultrasound is probably most associated with a parent’s first glimpse of a baby in the womb. However, a new video from the Acoustical Society of America showcases the technology’s abilities to do more than show images of our insides. This video is the second in a series celebrating the International Year of Sound.

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The Acoustical Society of America is calling on U.S. students to submit acoustics-related art and lyrics as part of the International Year of Sound 2020 celebration. K-12 students across the U.S. can participate in an international competition for primary, middle and secondary students from all over the world. It is also an opportunity to include an element of STEM education for so many students in need of enriching curriculum while being away from school due to coronavirus concerns.

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The International Year of Sound (IYS 2020) is a global initiative to highlight the importance of sound-related sciences and technologies, and the U.S. opening ceremony will be held Thursday, Feb. 13, at the American Center for Physics. Sponsored by the Acoustical Society of America and its Washington, DC Regional Chapter, the ceremony will have presentations about sound-related issues as well as a public showing of a film highlighting how scientists are reducing the impact of noise pollution on the natural world.

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The release of more than 50 floating sensors, called Mobile Earthquake Recording in Marine Areas by Independent Divers (MERMAIDs), is increasing the number of seismic stations around the planet. Scientists will use them to clarify the picture of the massive mantel plume in the lower mantel lying below the South Pacific Ocean. This effort will also establish one of the most comprehensive overviews of seismic activity across the globe. Frederik Simons will discuss this international effort during the marine seismoacoustics session of the 178th ASA Meeting.

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Stormquakes are a recently discovered phenomenon characterized by seismic activity originating at the ocean floor due to powerful storms. Heavy storms, like hurricanes or nor'easters, can create seismic waves as large as magnitude 3.5 quakes. These tremors caused by the effects of storms on the seafloor are what researchers call stormquakes. Catherine de Groot-Hedlin, who was part of the group that first observed stormquakes, will discuss their properties and meteorological significance at the 178th ASA Meeting.

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Fisheries acoustics have been studied for over 40 years to assess biomass and optimize aquaculture applications, and researchers in France have examined the phenomenon of how fish scatter acoustic waves in a dense school of fish contained in an open-sea cage. They developed an approach to help overcome issues encountered in aquaculture relating to the evaluation of the total biomass of dense schools of fish. They will discuss their work at the 178th ASA Meeting.

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Workplaces are full of sound, most of which is not helpful to workers trying to do their jobs. Scientists are using physics to understand how conversation, music and other ambient noise is experienced by individuals in a variety of work situations. Takeshi Akita, of Tokyo Denki University, will present a talk on “Effects of sound source and its direction on subjects’ impression of soundscape in workplace” at the 178th ASA Meeting.

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Music is an art, but it is also a science involving vibrating reeds and strings, sound waves and resonances. The study of acoustics can help scientists produce beautiful music even with musical instruments fashioned with high-tech methods, such as 3D printing. Researchers studied the sound quality of a 3D-printed ukulele and compared it to a standard wooden instrument, and will present the group’s results at the 178th ASA Meeting.

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One of the first things viewers of “Rick and Morty” might notice about Rick is his penchant for punctuating his speech with burps. Brooke Kidner has analyzed the frequency and acoustics of belching while speaking, and by zeroing in on the specific pitches and sound qualities of a midspeech burp, aims to find what latent linguistic meaning might be found in the little-studied gastrointestinal grumbles. Kidner will present her findings at the 178th ASA Meeting.