Transvaginal foetal sonic bombardment: woo-tunes for your hoo-hah

Cory Doctorow 6:45 am Tue Jan 5, 2016

Babypod is a wireless speaker designed to be worn by pregnant women in their vaginas so as to bombard their foetuses with music with minimal distortion.

The Spanish company that makes the Babypod cites a single, preliminary study that shows a minuscule improvement in the rate of fertilization of egg cells during IVF when the sperm around them is vibrated into a more even distribution by music.

The study only examined fertilization rates in the first 48 hours after the introduction of sperm, and its authors say that their conclusions need to be studied out to the fifth day to see whether the effect persists. The study is silent on the question of musical exposure during foetal development.

But who cares? Let's get those foetuses boogie-ing! After all, if you can't put a speaker in your vagina, where can you put it?

How do babies hear outside sounds?

The baby perceives extremely muffled sounds, why?

The uterus is a place protected from the exterior, and it is the mother's body that carries out this protecting role through multiple layers of soft tissue. These attenuate the intensity of sound and distort it in its journey to the uterus; it’s similar to what happens when you hear a conversation in the next-door room without catching everything that is said.

If the sound is generated at the level of the mother’s abdomen –using headphones for example- part of the sound is scattered in the environment, and part is absorbed by the layers of soft tissue –the abdominal wall and uterus- so the baby will hear just a murmur, similar to what happens when placing a pillow over a loudspeaker; it is also similar to the background sounds in a forest.

Can babies perceive sounds like we do?

This is solely possible via the vagina.

The vagina is a closed space, so sound is not dispersed in the environment. In addition, there are less soft tissue layers separating the baby from the sound target, only the vaginal and uterine walls. By placing a speaker inside the vagina, we overcome the barrier formed by the abdominal wall and the baby can hear sounds with almost as much intensity and clarity as when emitted.

WHAT IS BABYPOD?

(via JWZ)

Possible sign of life on Venus

Astronomers reported today that they've detected phosphine in the atmosphere of Venus, a possible biosignature of life on the planet. The researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of… READ THE REST
Startling, beautiful, and weird close-up images of our Sun

Using Europe's largest solar telescope, GREGOR, researchers captured these incredible images of details on the surface of the sun. Above is a sunspot while the image below "reveals intricate structures… READ THE REST
Programmable, 3D-printed fabric that can "remember" its original shape and transform into new ones

Imagine that your jacket changes shape depending on the temperature or your socks can provide additional support with the push of a button. Harvard engineers created a new material using… READ THE REST
Short Post, just one paragraph

Dessert cheesecake wafer bear claw fruitcake. Fruitcake chupa chups donut candy canes marzipan. Apple pie sweet roll tart chocolate cake macaroon marshmallow carrot cake gummi bears sweet. Pastry sugar plum… READ THE REST
Save 50% on a 1-year subscription to Dashlane's premium password manager

We all know vital information about ourselves and our private digital accounts can be compromised by cybercriminals. However, many would be frightened to know just how compromised they and their… READ THE REST
The Bite Helper removes the itch of a mosquito bite in seconds

While mosquitoes have certainly earned their title as the deadliest animal on earth, their impact on most of our lives is usually a lot less consequential. But even though they… READ THE REST