fivefiftyfive

scinerds:

bpod-mrc:

Ear-y Noise

The cochlea, pictured super-magnified, is a spiralling tunnel that leads deep inside our ear. It acts as a funnel, feeding sound from the outside world through a ‘lawn’ of sensory hair cells which line the organ of corti, highlighted here in red. As noise floods in, the sensory hairs wave around, opening up electrical channels that take speedy messages to the brain. Our auditory hair cells are intricate and fragile, making them prone to damage by diseases and infections. The World Health Organization (WHO), promoting today as International Day for Ear and Hearing, supports immunization schemes worldwide in efforts to prevent hearing loss. They also advise on safety for people with noisy jobs – after all, constant exposure to loud noises can rip out our sensitive ear hair cells. Such damage is irreparable; we are born with just 30,000 of these precious hairs and once they’re gone, they’re gone for good.

Written by John Ankers

—

• Bechara Kachar
• NIDCD, National Institutes of Health, USA

Ahh, Golden spiral, nice of you to drop by again.

Spiral Jetty & Great Salt Lake

As shown above, nature and art merge on the remote northern shores of Utah’s Great Salt Lake. Forty years ago the groundbreaking landscape artist Robert Smithson created his masterwork, “Spiral Jetty,” at Rozel Point, about 15 mi (24 km) from where America’s first Transcontinental Railroad was completed with a Golden Spike ceremony in 1869.

Photography & Summary: Ray Boren

(Source: ikenbot)

thedaintysquid:

 (by Sea Moon)