A woman who has had a stammer since she was three has told how an electronic gadget helped cure the problem. SpeechEasy comes from America and is a gadget fitted in the inner ear. It is based on a natural phenomenon called the "choral effect." It is well known that people with an acute stammering problem can sing with no problem. Take Gareth Gates as an example. The "choral effect" occurs when people who stammer, speak or sing in unison with others. It‘s been known about for decades but only recently have scientists been able to make it into a small enough device for use in everyday life. The gadget converts the way hearers hear their voice. It converts the voice into a chorus-like sound known as Altered Auditory Feedback (AAF). About one in 20 kids have a stammer at some point, but 80% of them stop doing it before it gets too bad.
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Two US astronauts have begun the first space walk of their 11-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Six astronauts, one woman and five men, arrived at the ISS on Monday. This is the first mission to carry out work on the ISS since the shuttle Columbia broke up as it tried to re-enter Earth's atmosphere, killing all its crew.
Did you know?
- Construction work has been on hold for four years
- 16 nations contribute to the ISS, including the US, Russia, Japan, Canada, Brazil and European Space Agency states
- The ISS will eventually be the size of a football field
American Steve MacLean and US colleague Dan Burbank have been attaching a new part of the station that includes solar panels to provide power. Once the ISS is complete, it will have four sets of solar panels to make power, as well as big radiators to stop it getting too hot.
Animated guide to the ISS & more details
Talking of space – remember we were wondering how on earth we were going to remember the sequence of the planets now that Pluto had been demoted?
The sequence would now be:
Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune
Well, two Wired Up readers have their own ideas for a mnemonic and here they are:
My Vet Expects Many Jumping Snakes Until Nightfall. By James McBean age 14
and
My Very Eerie Mum Just Stunned a Nun From James Poynton.
Hmmmmm. Nice try but maybe that ‘a’ shouldn’t be in there. Nice rhyme though. Thanks for both of those lads! Science teachers please take note.
Mrs Vera Eve Mansfield Just Seems Unfriendly Now.
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