Acoustics, as a research area, is the scientific study of generation, propagation, interaction, and detection of mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids across audible, infrasonic, and ultrasonic frequency ranges. It encompasses theoretical and experimental analysis of wave equations, sound fields, impedance, reflection, refraction, scattering, absorption, and nonlinear effects in complex media and structures. Subfields include physical acoustics, architectural acoustics, aeroacoustics, underwater and ocean acoustics, ultrasonics, vibroacoustics, and acoustical signal processing. Research in acoustics underpins technologies for imaging, nondestructive evaluation, noise control, transducer design, acoustic metamaterials, and advanced measurement techniques for characterizing materials, devices, and environments using sound.
University of Massachusetts Amherst's Jeff Podos and his former graduate student João C.T. Menezes have identified two contenders for the title of world's loudest bird: the bare-throated bellbird and the red-legged seriema. ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 29, 2026
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A pregnant female Ormia ochracea fly has a challenging problem to solve. She must listen for the song of a male cricket, locate him in the dark and use him as a host for her developing offspring.
Plants & Animals
Sep 28, 2026
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As Arctic sea ice retreats, new shipping routes, expanding resource development and growing geopolitical competition are transforming one of the world's least-monitored regions. Scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory ...
Earth Sciences
Sep 24, 2026
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Sound travels through the ocean carrying clues about potential prey, predators and other animals, giving sharks an important way to detect what they cannot yet see. But exactly how far a free-swimming shark can hear a sound—and ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 24, 2026
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Is a dog's bark simply an expression of emotion, or does it contain specific information that humans cannot understand? Artificial intelligence (AI) can already analyze thousands of animal sounds and identify patterns that ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 22, 2026
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In recent years, numerous attempts have been made to use artificial intelligence to decipher the communication of bats, whales, birds and other animals. However, a new study led by a team of researchers from Tel Aviv University ...
Ecology
Sep 16, 2026
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Beneath the Arctic Ocean is an orchestra featuring natural and human composers, from cracking sea ice and whistling beluga whales to humming shipping-vessel engines. Researchers from MIT Lincoln Laboratory heard some of this ...
Earth Sciences
Sep 4, 2026
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In a quiet summer garden, a caterpillar perches on a branch, munching serenely on leaves. A moment later, it freezes. It senses danger—and just in time. From behind, a wasp approaches, sizing up its prey.
Plants & Animals
Sep 2, 2026
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What makes birdsong beautiful? Answering this question could help us understand how soundscapes make the natural world relaxing for humans, opening the door to improving parks, upgrading the design of stressful places like ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 2, 2026
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The temporal structure of speech rhythms resembles that of the communication signals of numerous animal species. This is shown by a study conducted by a research team from the Leibniz Center for General Linguistics (ZAS) ...
Evolution
Sep 1, 2026
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