• picture
  • picture
  • picture
  • picture
Public Radio's Environmental News Magazine (follow us on Google News)

Science Note/Micro-Ear

Air Date: Week of

Microscopes let researchers look at bacteria. Now a new device will let them listen to these organisms as well. Living on EarthÂ’s Bridget Macdonald reports on a micro-ear for hearing sounds on a cellular level.



Transcript

CURWOOD: Just ahead – how to spot the birds – when you can’t see them. But first this note on emerging science from Bridget Macdonald.

[SCIENCE NOTE THEME]

MACDONALD: Stethoscopes let doctors hear inside the human body. Now researchers have found a way to tune into individual cells. Researchers in the United Kingdom are developing a micro-ear device that will let them listen to cells by using laser technology. Scientists surround a cell with a ring of laser beams, each with tiny glass or plastic beads suspended inside. When the cell makes a noise, the beads wobble – causing vibrations that are converted into sound waves. It’s the same way that acoustic energy becomes an audio signal inside a microphone. When the beads vibrate, a high-speed camera records their movement, so scientists can figure exactly where the sound is coming from. Researchers think the micro-ear could be used to eavesdrop on parasites and bacteria, like E. Coli. By understanding noises that come from an organism’s smallest moving parts, scientists hope to develop medicine that can stop them in their tracks. Even for microbiologists, it pays to be a good listener. That’s this week’s note on emerging science. I’m Bridget Macdonald.

 

Links

National Institute for Medical Research

University of Glasgow, Bioelectronics

University of Oxford, Bionanotechnology

 

Living on Earth wants to hear from you!

Living on Earth
62 Calef Highway, Suite 212
Lee, NH 03861
Telephone: 617-287-4121
E-mail: comments@loe.org

Newsletter [Click here]

Donate to Living on Earth!
Living on Earth is an independent media program and relies entirely on contributions from listeners and institutions supporting public service. Please donate now to preserve an independent environmental voice.

Newsletter
Living on Earth offers a weekly delivery of the show's rundown to your mailbox. Sign up for our newsletter today!

Sailors For The Sea: Be the change you want to sea.

The Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment: Committed to protecting and improving the health of the global environment.

Contribute to Living on Earth and receive, as our gift to you, an archival print of one of Mark Seth Lender's extraordinary wildlife photographs. Follow the link to see Mark's current collection of photographs.

Buy a signed copy of Mark Seth Lender's book Smeagull the Seagull & support Living on Earth