March 2020, ScientificAmerican.com 19And Zhan has an even larger dream: to
build the equivalent of a million-sensor array in
California using about 1,000 kilometers of dark
fiber. He has already converted 37 kilometers
into a permanent seismic network below Pas-
adena and would like to do the same in other
cities across the state. The data could reveal
vulnerabilities in cities’ infrastructure and
could help alert citizens the instant an earth-
quake begins. “This is going to be a huge help
in terms of preparing the community,” Zhan
says. At the moment, scientists cannot predict
earth quakes—but a better understanding of
the precursory shocks that occasionally lead
up to a main quake could only help.
“Any more data about exactly how earth-
quakes start and nucleate could be a game
changer,” says Robert Mellors, a seismologist
at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory,
who was not involved in the research.
But the quantity of data involved also pre-
sents a processing problem. DAS easily gener-
ates 10 terabytes a day for a single fiber-optic
cable; that will add up to a petabyte in just
100 days. In comparison, the international
seismological data repository—which collects
all the seismological data available across the
globe—contains less than a petabyte. Before
scientists tap into dark fiber and deploy cables
across remote areas, they will first have to
learn how to store and share a colossal amount
of information. — Shannon Hallby measuring neural activity in the mice’s
auditory cortexes as white noise played, and
they also stimulated particular neurons direct-
ly to induce the curve-suppressing effect.
Future research should address how this
mechanism works, says Kishore Kuchibhotla,
a brain scientist at Johns Hopkins University,
who was not involved in the study. And “the
jury remains out on whether and how this
relates to human perception,” he adds.
It is possible that understanding this effect
could eventually help people hear better. “Add-
ing noise into the ear will not help someone
with hearing loss,” says Daniel Polley, who
studies auditory neuroscience at Harvard Uni-
versity and also was not involved in the new
study. “But learning how to turn down the
hyperexcitability in the brain of someone with
hearing loss could be helpful for hearing sounds
in noise—as well as other related conditions,
such as tinnitus and hyperacusis,” hypersensi-
tivity to loud sounds. — Jillian Kramersad0320Adva3p.indd 19 1/22/20 4:59 PM
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Untitled-4 1 Untitled-453 1 20/09/2019 15:151/23/20 9:27 AM
And Zhan has an even larger dream: to
build the equivalent of a million-sensor array in
California using about 1,000 kilometers of dark
fiber. He has already converted 37 kilometers
into a permanent seismic network below Pas-
adena and would like to do the same in other
cities across the state. The data could reveal
vulnerabilities in cities’ infrastructure and
could help alert citizens the instant an earth-
quake begins. “This is going to be a huge help
in terms of preparing the community,” Zhan
says. At the moment, scientists cannot predict
earth quakes—but a better understanding of
the precursory shocks that occasionally lead
up to a main quake could only help.
“Any more data about exactly how earth-
quakes start and nucleate could be a game
changer,” says Robert Mellors, a seismologist
at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory,
who was not involved in the research.
But the quantity of data involved also pre-
sents a processing problem. DAS easily gener-
ates 10 terabytes a day for a single fiber-optic
cable; that will add up to a petabyte in just
100 days. In comparison, the international
seismological data repository—which collects
all the seismological data available across the
globe—contains less than a petabyte. Before
scientists tap into dark fiber and deploy cables
across remote areas, they will first have to
learn how to store and share a colossal amount
of information. — Shannon Hallby measuring neural activity in the mice’s
auditory cortexes as white noise played, and
they also stimulated particular neurons direct-
ly to induce the curve-suppressing effect.
Future research should address how this
mechanism works, says Kishore Kuchibhotla,
a brain scientist at Johns Hopkins University,
who was not involved in the study. And “the
jury remains out on whether and how this
relates to human perception,” he adds.
It is possible that understanding this effect
could eventually help people hear better. “Add-
ing noise into the ear will not help someone
with hearing loss,” says Daniel Polley, who
studies auditory neuroscience at Harvard Uni-
versity and also was not involved in the new
study. “But learning how to turn down the
hyperexcitability in the brain of someone with
hearing loss could be helpful for hearing sounds
in noise—as well as other related conditions,
such as tinnitus and hyperacusis,” hypersensi-
tivity to loud sounds. — Jillian Kramer© 2020 Scientific American