Scienceline

These audio files feature a male swamp sparrow’s trill, which consists of the same syllable rapidly repeated over and over again. The first file is the trill at normal speed, and the second file is the trill slowed down 5x. Each syllable in the trill contains the same sequence of three notes: a short initial note that drops rapidly in pitch, a flat middle note and a long final note with a slower fall in pitch. In this study, the researchers specifically looked at the initial and final notes, swapping out short notes for long notes in the initial position and long notes for short notes in the final position to test whether birds discriminated between notes differently depending on context. [Recordings from Robert Lachlan]

Read more here: http://scienceline.org/2015/01/sparrow-songs-tune-into-context/

These audio files feature a male swamp sparrow’s trill, which consists of the same syllable rapidly repeated over and over again. The first file is the trill at normal speed, and the second file is the trill slowed down 5x. Each syllable in the trill contains the same sequence of three notes: a short initial note that drops rapidly in pitch, a flat middle note and a long final note with a slower fall in pitch. In this study, the researchers specifically looked at the initial and final notes, swapping out short notes for long notes in the initial position and long notes for short notes in the final position to test whether birds discriminated between notes differently depending on context. [Recordings from Robert Lachlan]

Read more here: http://scienceline.org/2015/01/sparrow-songs-tune-into-context/

These audio files feature a male swamp sparrow’s trill, which consists of the same syllable rapidly repeated over and over again. The first file is the trill at normal speed, and the second file is the trill slowed down 5x. Each syllable in the trill contains the same sequence of three notes: a short initial note that drops rapidly in pitch, a flat middle note and a long final note with a slower fall in pitch. In this study, the researchers specifically looked at the initial and final notes, swapping out short notes for long notes in the initial position and long notes for short notes in the final position to test whether birds discriminated between notes differently depending on context. [Recordings from Robert Lachlan]

These audio files feature a male swamp sparrow’s trill, which consists of the same syllable rapidly repeated over and over again. The first file is the trill at normal speed, and the second file is the trill slowed down 5x. Each syllable in the trill contains the same sequence of three notes: a short initial note that drops rapidly in pitch, a flat middle note and a long final note with a slower fall in pitch. In this study, the researchers specifically looked at the initial and final notes, swapping out short notes for long notes in the initial position and long notes for short notes in the final position to test whether birds discriminated between notes differently depending on context. [Recordings from Robert Lachlan]

Most media is now hosted online. So how does that change the process of gaining fame and staying famous?

By Rebecca Cudmore and Amy Lu

Most media is now hosted online. So how does that change the process of gaining fame and staying famous?

By Rebecca Cudmore and Amy Lu

Anyone who travels knows that feeling — the disorienting, sleepy-awake feeling, like you've been hit by a bus. It's jet lag. But why do we get it, and what can we do to offset it? Kathryn Free speaks to a researcher who may have the answer, and a pilot who fills us in on how people in his profession fight jet lag.

Anyone who travels knows that feeling — the disorienting, sleepy-awake feeling, like you've been hit by a bus. It's jet lag. But why do we get it, and what can we do to offset it? Kathryn Free speaks to a researcher who may have the answer, and a pilot who fills us in on how people in his profession fight jet lag.

Since Freud, psychologists and other social scientists have endlessly pondered over why humans laugh, and what exactly causes us to perceive certain situations and actions as "humorous”. In a special episode for WNYU’s The Doppler Effect program, Becca Cudmore and Neel Patel find out from scientists and humor professionals what makes something worthy of laughs.

Listeners will hear insights from Rod Martin, a psychology professor at the University of Western Ontario; David Zomer, a former humor researcher at Hunter College in New York City; Bob Mankoff, the cartoon editor for The New Yorker; and Ryan Hansinger, a comic based in Los Angeles.

This episode originally appeared on The Doppler Effect, which airs on WNYU 89.1 FM every Tuesday at 7:30 PM.

Since Freud, psychologists and other social scientists have endlessly pondered over why humans laugh, and what exactly causes us to perceive certain situations and actions as "humorous”. In a special episode for WNYU’s The Doppler Effect program, Becca Cudmore and Neel Patel find out from scientists and humor professionals what makes something worthy of laughs.

Listeners will hear insights from Rod Martin, a psychology professor at the University of Western Ontario; David Zomer, a former humor researcher at Hunter College in New York City; Bob Mankoff, the cartoon editor for The New Yorker; and Ryan Hansinger, a comic based in Los Angeles.

This episode originally appeared on The Doppler Effect, which airs on WNYU 89.1 FM every Tuesday at 7:30 PM.