* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Saturday, August 2, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra takes the Lollapalooza stage – Yahoo Home

    Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra takes the Lollapalooza stage – Yahoo Home

    Sens. Blackburn, Warnock introduce CREATE Act to provide tax relief to music creators – Yahoo Home

    Sens. Blackburn and Warnock Launch CREATE Act to Deliver Tax Relief for Music Creators

    That’s (Political) Entertainment: When Theatre Meets Politics

    Future Script: How Generative AI Is Changing Collective Bargaining in the Entertainment Industry – Jackson Lewis

    Future Script: How Generative AI Is Transforming Collective Bargaining in Entertainment

    The SBA’s live-entertainment bailout was supposed to end two years ago. We still don’t know how $1.5 billion was spent. – Yahoo Home

    $1.5 Billion Live-Entertainment Bailout: Two Years Later, Where Did the Money Go?

    Wall Street Bets: Caesars, Golden Entertainment, Churchill Downs, GLPI, Boyd – CDC Gaming

    Top Wall Street Bets: Caesars, Golden Entertainment, Churchill Downs, GLPI, and Boyd Take Center Stage

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Livonia police use grappler technology to stop drunk driver – ClickOnDetroit | WDIV Local 4

    Livonia Police Deploy Grappler Technology to Safely Stop Drunk Driver

    Emory orthopaedic surgeons use robotic technology to transform knee replacement surgery – Emory News Center

    How Robotic Technology is Revolutionizing Knee Replacement Surgery

    Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp (CTSH) Q2 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Strong Revenue … – Yahoo.co

    Cognizant Q2 2025 Earnings: Impressive Revenue Growth and Key Takeaways

    Revving Up The U.S. Technology Engine – Forbes

    Revving Up The U.S. Technology Engine – Forbes

    More than just a hockey player – Rochester Institute of Technology Athletics

    Beyond the Ice: The Inspiring Journey of a Remarkable Athlete from Rochester Institute of Technology

    Smart Logistics in Warehousing – From Legacy Protocols to Green IoT – How Technology Is Reshaping the Sustainable Supply Chain – Logistics Viewpoints –

    Smart Logistics in Warehousing – From Legacy Protocols to Green IoT – How Technology Is Reshaping the Sustainable Supply Chain – Logistics Viewpoints –

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra takes the Lollapalooza stage – Yahoo Home

    Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra takes the Lollapalooza stage – Yahoo Home

    Sens. Blackburn, Warnock introduce CREATE Act to provide tax relief to music creators – Yahoo Home

    Sens. Blackburn and Warnock Launch CREATE Act to Deliver Tax Relief for Music Creators

    That’s (Political) Entertainment: When Theatre Meets Politics

    Future Script: How Generative AI Is Changing Collective Bargaining in the Entertainment Industry – Jackson Lewis

    Future Script: How Generative AI Is Transforming Collective Bargaining in Entertainment

    The SBA’s live-entertainment bailout was supposed to end two years ago. We still don’t know how $1.5 billion was spent. – Yahoo Home

    $1.5 Billion Live-Entertainment Bailout: Two Years Later, Where Did the Money Go?

    Wall Street Bets: Caesars, Golden Entertainment, Churchill Downs, GLPI, Boyd – CDC Gaming

    Top Wall Street Bets: Caesars, Golden Entertainment, Churchill Downs, GLPI, and Boyd Take Center Stage

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Livonia police use grappler technology to stop drunk driver – ClickOnDetroit | WDIV Local 4

    Livonia Police Deploy Grappler Technology to Safely Stop Drunk Driver

    Emory orthopaedic surgeons use robotic technology to transform knee replacement surgery – Emory News Center

    How Robotic Technology is Revolutionizing Knee Replacement Surgery

    Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp (CTSH) Q2 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Strong Revenue … – Yahoo.co

    Cognizant Q2 2025 Earnings: Impressive Revenue Growth and Key Takeaways

    Revving Up The U.S. Technology Engine – Forbes

    Revving Up The U.S. Technology Engine – Forbes

    More than just a hockey player – Rochester Institute of Technology Athletics

    Beyond the Ice: The Inspiring Journey of a Remarkable Athlete from Rochester Institute of Technology

    Smart Logistics in Warehousing – From Legacy Protocols to Green IoT – How Technology Is Reshaping the Sustainable Supply Chain – Logistics Viewpoints –

    Smart Logistics in Warehousing – From Legacy Protocols to Green IoT – How Technology Is Reshaping the Sustainable Supply Chain – Logistics Viewpoints –

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home Business

Birdsong breakthrough: Cracking codes for human speech

June 27, 2024
in Business
Birdsong breakthrough: Cracking codes for human speech
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Researchers have decoded bird brain signals into song syllables, potentially revolutionising human vocal prostheses. By studying electrical signals in zebra finch brains, scientists at UC San Diego can predict when and what birds will sing, a breakthrough likened to making the mute speak. This research paves the way for advanced communication prostheses to help those with speech impediments. The similarities between birdsong and human vocalisations could significantly improve the quality of life for individuals with speech disorders, bringing us closer to a brain-machine interface for vocalisation and communication. The article was first published on FirstRand Perspectives.

Decoding birds’ brain signals into syllables of song

By Adrian Ephraim

Could the unique song of a bird someday, miraculously, help give a voice to people who have lost the ability to speak?

Such an achievement would be crowned in the world of vocal prostheses that could see the humble bird’s brain hold the key to a scientific moment of biblical proportions – making the mute speak.

Researchers in the United States have developed the ability to predict when a bird will sing by reading electrical signals in its brain. The work has been hailed as a first step towards building more advanced vocal prostheses that can predict human speech.

The link between how birds and humans vocalise

“We’re studying birdsong in a way that will help us get one step closer to engineering a brain-machine interface for vocalisation and communication,” said Daril Brown, an electrical and computer engineering PhD student at the University of California, San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering, and the first author of the study, which was published in PLoS Computational Biology.

In this instance, the holy grail is a brain-machine interface for vocalisation and communication. Still, smaller building blocks need to be established, like the link between how birds and humans vocalise – a complex process of learned behaviour.

The project brought together engineers and neuroscientists at the University of California, San Diego. It was led by Vikash Gilja, an electrical and computer engineering professor, and Timothy Gentner, a professor of psychology and neurobiology.

So, how do they predict a bird’s brain?

Silicon electrodes were implanted in the brains of adult male zebra finches. The electrodes recorded the birds’ neural activity when they sang. A specific set of electrical signals called ‘local field potentials’ allows birds to learn and produce a song.

What’s interesting about this is that local field potentials are used to predict vocal behaviour in humans, too. Although this has been studied in human brains, its behaviour in bird brains has largely been ignored.

Contrary to popular belief, in most species of birds, the male sings to attract a mate or proclaim his wondrous territory. Birdsong is a critical survival function for the species, as their repertoire moves into overdrive during the breeding season.

Birds communicate daily using calls such as chirps, whistles, and twitters (before the other Twitter). The sounds birds make are categorised as either songs or calls, with songs being more musical. Calls are used to communicate within large families of birds to signal anything from warnings about predators to information about food.

Cracking the code of birdsong

Now, researchers have cracked the code and can predict changes in the sequence of birdsong by identifying features in “local field potentials.”

“Our motivation for exploring local field potentials was that most of the complementary human work for speech prostheses development has focused on these types of signals,” Gilja said. “In this paper, we show many similarities in this type of signalling between the zebra finch and humans, as well as other primates. With these signals, we can start to decode the brain’s intent to generate speech.”

Birdsong is of special interest because of the similarities in vocalisations to human speech. (That’s probably why it’s fairly easy for some humans to imitate birdsongs or whistles.)

Birdsong is among the most soothing and cognitively stimulating sounds to the human brain. Julian Treasure, author of Sound Business and chairman of noise consultancy The Sound Agency, says birdsong creates a state he calls “body relaxed, mind alert”.

Finches are fairly common birds and sing much more frequently than most birds because they mate often. At eight to ten months of age, zebra finches are ready to mate. The team’s work revealed that separate features in the local field potentials translate into specific syllables of the bird’s song, including when the syllables will occur during a song.

Communication prosthesis can improve quality of life

“Using this system, we’re able to predict with high fidelity the onset of a songbird’s vocal behaviour – what sequence the bird is going to sing, and when it is going to sing it,” Brown explained.

What the team learns from this sequencing brings them one step closer to being able to build highly advanced vocal prostheses for those with speech impediments.

“In the longer term, we want to use the detailed knowledge we are gaining from the songbird brain to develop a communication prosthesis that can improve the quality of life for humans suffering various illnesses and disorders,” added Gentner.

The researchers say they can even predict bird song sequence variations. If, for example, a bird’s song consists of four syllables, 1-2-3-4, they can now predict when the sequence will change to 1-2-3 or 1-2-3-4-5.

“These forms of variation are important for us to test hypothetical speech prostheses because a human doesn’t just repeat one sentence repeatedly,” said Gilja. “It’s exciting that we found parallels in the brain signals being recorded and documented in human physiology studies to our study in songbirds.”

Read also:

Amapiano: South Africa’s beat goes global
South Africa’s first amphibious ‘Waterfront Duck’ bus set to make a splash in Cape Town – Keith Lindsay
Breadline Africa eradicated pit toilet exposure for 11,000 South African children – Marion Wagner 

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : BizNews – https://www.biznews.com/good-hope-project/2024/06/26/birdsong-codes-human-speech

Tags: BirdsongBreakthroughbusiness
Previous Post

Wilgenhof gets SU Council reprieve – anatomy of the ‘Nagligte’ scandal

Next Post

My offshore investing journey

Livonia police use grappler technology to stop drunk driver – ClickOnDetroit | WDIV Local 4

Livonia Police Deploy Grappler Technology to Safely Stop Drunk Driver

August 2, 2025
New NIL guidance from College Sports Commission softens stance on collective payments to athletes – CBS Sports

New NIL guidance from College Sports Commission softens stance on collective payments to athletes – CBS Sports

August 2, 2025
Foraging strategy and tree structure as drivers of arboreality and suspensory behaviour in savannah-dwelling chimpanzees – Frontiers

Foraging strategy and tree structure as drivers of arboreality and suspensory behaviour in savannah-dwelling chimpanzees – Frontiers

August 2, 2025
EPA attacks climate science. Here are the facts. – E&E News by POLITICO

EPA Questions Climate Science: Key Insights You Shouldn’t Miss

August 2, 2025
6 science-backed strategies to improve your memory – National Geographic

6 Proven Science-Backed Strategies to Boost Your Memory

August 2, 2025
Trying to keep your brain young? A big new study finds these lifestyle changes help – NPR

Trying to keep your brain young? A big new study finds these lifestyle changes help – NPR

August 2, 2025
2025 World Junior Summer Showcase: 3 things learned on Day 5 – NHL.com

3 Must-Know Highlights from Day 5 of the 2025 World Junior Summer Showcase

August 2, 2025
Economic Reality Bites Trump and His Protectionist Trade Policies – The New Yorker

How Trump’s Protectionist Trade Policies Ended Up Hurting the Global Economy

August 2, 2025
Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra takes the Lollapalooza stage – Yahoo Home

Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra takes the Lollapalooza stage – Yahoo Home

August 2, 2025
President Trump Delivers Remarks on Making Health Technology Great Again – The White House (.gov)

President Trump Delivers Remarks on Making Health Technology Great Again – The White House (.gov)

August 2, 2025

Categories

Archives

August 2025
MTWTFSS
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
« Jul    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (750)
  • Economy (775)
  • Entertainment (21,653)
  • General (16,243)
  • Health (9,812)
  • Lifestyle (783)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (776)
  • Politics (784)
  • Science (15,988)
  • Sports (21,271)
  • Technology (15,753)
  • World (758)

Recent News

Livonia police use grappler technology to stop drunk driver – ClickOnDetroit | WDIV Local 4

Livonia Police Deploy Grappler Technology to Safely Stop Drunk Driver

August 2, 2025
New NIL guidance from College Sports Commission softens stance on collective payments to athletes – CBS Sports

New NIL guidance from College Sports Commission softens stance on collective payments to athletes – CBS Sports

August 2, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version