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Specifically, the ultrasound treatments were shown to influence their decision to look either left or right at a target presented on a screen, despite prior training to prefer one target over the other. The new study, co-authored by neuroscientist Jan Kubanek from the University of Utah, highlights the potential use of this non-invasive technique for treating certain disorders in humans, like addictions, without the need for surgery or medication. The procedure is also completely painless. For their experiment, the researchers applied an experimental technique commonly used by scientists to study choice behaviors in humans, such as the effects of brain...

Davis police investigators said they recovered evidence from the rental property of the man who shot and killed one of their officers Thursday, including a note they believe was written by the man and two guns that were not registered to him. On Saturday, police released a one-paragraph letter they believe was written by Kevin Douglas Limbaugh. Spokesman Lt. Paul Doroshov told reporters that the paper was found face up on the bed of the gunman. The letter reads: “The Davis Police department has been hitting me with ultra sonic waves meant to keep dogs from barking. I notified the...

In 1921, according to the history books, an newly-blind Englishman named James Biggs was feeling threatened by the amount of traffic in his neighborhood. In order to be more visible to motorists, Biggs reportedly painted his cane white. If true, it means the white cane as an aid to the blind is approaching its 100th birthday. Which explains why, in true Silicon Valley fashion, Raghav Ganesh thought the world was overdue for the white cane, 2.0. "There's an old device here that needed an upgrade," Raghav says, "and I thought I could make that better." Raghav Ganesh, a San Jose...

Sydney Opera House will be reaching out to an entirely new audience demographic next month when it stages a musical event aimed at canine listeners. The performance, which will take place on the northern boardwalk outside the venue, is the work of New York wife and husband team Laurie Anderson and Lou Reed. The music stems from works that Anderson has been writing over the last 11 years for her rat terrier named Lollabelle. Most of the pitches will be too high for the dogs’ owners to hear, but they will be able to monitor the sounds on meters and,...

February 12, 2008 Kids' commissioner calls for ban on Mosquito, ultrasonic anti-teen device (Compound Security Systems/PA) The Mosquito has a 20-minute cut-off to prevent shopowners leaving it on all night Philippe Naughton Under 25? Listen here | Over-25s, listen here The creators of a pioneering device that uses high-frequency sound to stop teenagers congregating outside shops, schools and railway stations reacted angrily today to news that the government-appointed Children's Commissioner wants to see it banned. The £500 Mosquito device has been installed at some 3,500 locations across the country since it first went on sale in January 2006. It emits...

Frogs can communicate via sonar. ___ Editors summary and abstract follow: _____ Editor's Summary 16 March 2006 Raising The Tone -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Some bats, dolphins and rodents are notable among vertebrates in being able to produce and detect ultrasonic frequencies. Now for the first time an amphibian can be added to that select list. The spectacular bird-like sounds made by a type of Chinese torrent frog were known to edge into the ultrasonic range: now these frogs are shown to use ultrasonics as a form of communication. The males do at least, during competition for territory. Frogs are a long way,...

LONDON (Reuters) - Bats, whales and dolphins use it to communicate. Baby rodents call their mothers with it and now a rare Chinese frog has shown it can hear and respond to ultrasounds, scientists said on Wednesday. The frog, Amolops tormotus, is the first non-mammalian species known to use the ultra-high frequencies that humans cannot hear