Hearing International

Welcome to part VII of Hearing International’s series honoring the Cochlear Explorers. This week’s explorer is Ernst Reissner (1824-1878), a Baltic German anatomist from Riga, Livonia. Recall that there are many cells and other structures in the body named after the researchers who first described them. These are called Eponyms. The name of this week’s cochlear explorer, Reissner (prounced rīs′nĕr), is lent to Reissner’s membrane, a membrane inside the cochlea of the inner ear that Reissner was the first person to identify

Taking off a bit on last week’s controversy between Thomas Gold and Georg von Bekesy , rivals on their respective sides of the argument of passive versus resonance theories of  cochlear mechanics.  While researching last week’s Hearing International,  I came across an interesting discussion of hair cell electromotility.   Recall that the predominate cochlear mechanics theory of the 1950s, 1960s and for part of the

While both of these renown American scientists were foreign born, they both emigrated to the US furthering their already stellar scientific careers.   Georg von Bekesy (1899-1972), a Hungarian citizen, he had moved to the United States in 1947 after working in various European laboratories and found himself at the Harvard University in the Psycho-Acoustic Laboratory. At the time, the labs at Harvard were the “seat” of

Edward Ciołkowskia was a Polish orthodox priest who was deported deep into the heart of Russia on the order of Alexander II because of his political activities.  Edward Russianized his name and married an educated Tartar woman; they had 18 children of whom Konstantin was fifth.  Living about 120 miles south of Moscow in the Spassky District, young Konstantin’s father became a forester, teacher and

The scouting movement began in England in 1907, based on the ideas of its founder, Sir Robert S. S. Baden-Powell, and his book Scouting for Boys. That book is a rewrite of his earlier military books Reconnaissance and Scouting (1884) and Aids to Scouting for NCOs and Men (1899),  which are fundamentally military manual which the British Army used to train

 We have all heard the term “smartphone,” and by now most of us are using one. How is a smartphone different from a cell phone, and what makes it so smart?  Generally, a smartphone is a device that lets you make telephone calls, but also adds in features that, in the past, you would have found only on a personal digital assistant or

Hearing International has shied away from a discussion of George Washington’s hearing impairment as,  on the surface, it appears not to be an international topic.  But as research progressed into his hearing issues, it has become evident that there are some international aspects to the story that should be presented and will shed light on his known hearing loss and

On the frozen tundra and farmland in northeast North Dakota lies what the Sioux Indians called the “sacred water“.  Devil’s Lake, as it’s called these days, is high in saline and not fit to drink, but home to some of the best ice fishing in the country.  This was also home to one of the finest actresses of our time and

On October 12,1492, Rodrigo de Triana, a sailor aboard the Pinta, first sighted land. Columbus himself later claimed to have seen a sort of light or aura before Triana did, allowing him to keep the reward he had promised to give whomever spotted land first. The land turned out to be a small island in the present-day Bahamas. Columbus named it

The late 1400s was a time of emerging western imperialism and economic competition among the various European Kingdoms.  At the time, these kingdoms were seeking trade routes to the to the Orient and colonizing various parts of the globe, while constantly worrying about sailing off the edge of the flat world.  Christopher  (Colon) or Columbus, as he became known, had a