New device lets deaf ‘hear’ through their tongues
Washington:Researchers are developing an electric retainer that could allow the hearing-impaired to ‘listen’ through their tongues.
The retainer will eliminate the need for expensive cochlear implants for those with hearing loss, researchers said. The technology relies on a Bluetooth-enabled earpiece to detect sound and send electrical impul-ses to the electrode-packed retainer that wearers press their tongue against to ‘hear’.
“It’s much simpler than undergoing surgery and we think it will be a lot less expensive than cochlear implants,” said John Williams, associate profes-sor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Colorado State University and the project lead.
Williams was interested in neuroscience and sensory substitution – training the brain to receive information from another source. The tongue contains thousands of nerves and the region of the brain that interprets touch sensations from the tongue is capable of decoding complicated information.
“What we are trying to do is another form of sensory substitution,” Williams said. Unlike hearing aids, which amplify sound, cochlear implants circumvent damaged areas of the ear and stimulate the auditory nerve directly.
Microphones outside the ear detect sounds and send them to a speech processor, which analyses the information and transmits it to a receiver where it is converted into electric impulses. The implant sends those impulses directly to the auditory nerve.(PTI)
Hong Kong protest ‘graffiti teen’ allowed to stay with family
Hong Kong:A Hong Kong court ruled on Monday that a 14-year-old girl who was arrested for drawing on a wall used to post pro-democracy messages, could remain in her family’s care.
Authorities had been seeking a “care and protection” order for the teenager, which could have seen her taken away from her deaf father, in a case which has sparked concern over the targeting of minors by the authorities.
The girl had been sent to a children’s home after being arrested in December for chalking a flower on the “Lennon Wall” — used by protesters to post notes of support for the pro-democracy movement during two months of rallies for fully free leadership elections. She was later allowed to return to her family on bail and under curfew.
“After considering the facts and based on suggestions made by social workers, there is no need to make such an order now,” magistrate Winnie Lau said today. Prominent pro-democracy veteran Martin Lee, who represented the girl, said the teenager, who was not available for comment after the hearing, “should be happy today.”
The case sparked outcry from pro-democracy campaigners, and the teen became known as “Chalk Girl” in local media. Police had also sought a care and protection order for another teenager, a 14-year-old boy who was arrested during the clearance of one of the protest camps in November. (AFP)
Fox apologizes after pundit’s remarks about English city
London:US broadcaster Fox News has issued at least two on-air apologies for comments made by a pundit who described the English city of Birmingham as “totally Muslim.”
The remarks by author Steven Emerson inspired ridicule in Britain and prompted Prime Minister David Cameron to label him “a complete idiot.” Emerson, who apologized soon after the broadcast, suggested that in Britain “there are actual cities like Birmingham that are totally Muslim, where non-Muslims just simply don’t go in.” Census data shows that Britain’s second-largest city has 234,411 Muslims, or 22 per cent of Birmingham’s population. Fox News presenter Julie Banderas told viewers on Sunday that “we have made some regrettable errors on air, regarding the Muslim population in Europe.” Presenter Jeanine Pirro said her guest made factual errors “we wrongly let stand unchallenged.” (AP)
UK boy, 5, gets billed for no-show at friend’s B-day bash
London: In a bizarre incident, a five-year- old boy in the UK has been billed about 16 pounds and threatened with legal action by his friend’s mother for failing to attend her son’s birthday party.
Alex Nash, from Cornwall, was invited to the party just before Christmas. An invoice for 15.95 pounds was sent by his school friend’s mother Julie Lawrence, who said Alex’s non-attendance left her out of pocket and his parents had her details to tell her he was not going.
Alex’s father Derek said he had been told he would be taken to the small claims court for refusing to pay. Alex’s parents, from Torpoint, had accepted an invitation to the party at a dry ski slope in Plymouth, Devon, just before Christmas.
However, they realised their son was double-booked and due to spend time with his grandparents, which he did. His parents said they had no contact information for Lawrence at that time. They found the invoice in a brown envelope in his school bag last week. “It was a proper invoice with full official details and even her bank details on it.(PTI)
Jealous daughter forces mother to abort
Beijing: Fearing a newborn will become the favourite of her parents, a teenager in China forced her mother to end her pregnancy after 13 weeks, a newspaper said on Monday.Xiao, 44, was in tears when she terminated her pregnancy Jan 15, the Shanghai Daily reported.
Xiao and her husband Wang decided to have a second child after China relaxed its one-child policy in 2013. But her pregnancy sparked strong objections from their 13-year-old daughter.(IANS)