Laughing hyenas, wailing levees, the sound of cheese and blaring bagpipes

Highlights of the 157th ASA Meeting to be held May 18-22 in Portland, Ore.

April 23, 2009 -- Deteriorating screws in bridges, fish that listen in the dark, medical devices that use sound to treat disease, the detected comeback of a long-gone whale, the sound of hyenas, cheese, and bagpipes, and what evolution can teach us about cowardice.

These are just a few of the topics that will be covered at the 157th meeting of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA), which convenes from May 18-22 at the Hilton Portland & Executive Tower in Portland, Oregon. There, acoustical scientists and engineers will present more than 1,000 talks and posters related to acoustics, a cross-section of diverse disciplines devoted to architecture, underwater research, psychology, physics, animal bioacoustics, medicine, music, noise control, and speech.

Journalists are invited to cover the upcoming meeting either onsite in Portland or online through the meeting's World Wide Press Room. Information on how to obtain complementary journalist registration can be found at the end of the release.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 157th ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY MEETING:

1. Wimps Hear Dangerous Noises Differently
2. Fish that Live in the Dark Have Better Hearing
3. Gene-Laden Bubbles Grow New Blood Vessels
4. Singing Screws Reveal Sick Structures
5. Musical Words
6. The Peculiar Hyena's Laugh
7. Supple Waves in Cheese and Skin
8. How the Bagpipe Got Its Voices
9. Exploding Bubbles Trim the Prostate
10. Reversing Time to Spot Cracks in Gas Pipes
11. Laser Makes Big Bangs Underwater
12. Icelandic Sage: Return of the Right Whale
13. Clogged Pipes Make a Special Sound
14. Listening to Levees

1) WIMPS HEAR DANGEROUS NOISES DIFFERENTLY

Scrawnier people are more likely to perceive an approaching sound as closer than it actually is. This connection between physical fitness and the brain's auditory system may have evolved to help the weak get out of the way of approaching danger.

That's the latest finding of evolutionary psychologist John Neuhoff and colleagues at The College of Wooster in Ohio, who study "looming" sounds. Participants in their study listened to a tone moving toward them and pressed a button when they thought the sound had arrived directly in front of them. Nearly everyone pushed the button too early, which Neuhoff interprets as an adaptation that helps human beings to anticipate and avoid danger.

The team also tested the fitness levels of the listeners and found that those better equipped to handle danger allowed the sound get closer. Individuals with greater upper body strength and/or stronger cardiovascular systems waited longer to push the button, while subjects in poorer physical shape gave themselves a greater "margin of safety."

The research expands upon previous work showing that women respond to looming sounds sooner than their typically larger, stronger male counterparts -- though both groups perceive receding sounds equally. Rhesus monkeys also spend less time looking at receding sounds than approaching sounds. "These reactions are influenced by evolutionary forces; it's a good thing to respond a little bit early and, evolutionarily, it doesn't cost much," says Neuhoff.