spain

When navigating at night, around dark caves, and through murky waters, bats, dolphins, and whales use clicks and whistles to create a sonic picture of their environment. This ability to see with sound is called echolocation, and some Spanish scientists think they've found a way to systematically teach it to the blind.

Writing in the journal Acta Acustica, the researchers identified a set of sounds that could be used by humans, and codified the training regime needed to let blind people visualize their environment through sound.

This month, a slow-swimming robot known as Spray will attempt to glide roughly 2,484 nautical miles across the Atlantic, from the southern tip of Greenland to the coast of Spain. An autonomous underwater vehicle, or AUV, Spray is a joint venture between the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in California. When deployed, it will act as an aquatic sentinel, gathering data on temperature, currents and salinity that will help scientists better understand the role of oceans in regulating the global climate.

Dept.: Gray Matter
Element: Titanium
Project: Anodizing a titanium birdhouse
Cost: $75
Time: 2 hours
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