Innovation of the week
Engineers have created a bionic ear.
Engineers have created a bionic ear that can tune in to TV, radio, and Wi-Fi and might also provide fantastic hearing. Created in the lab out of a mix of electronics and living tissue, the ear would give people fitted with it “superhuman abilities,’’ said Susan Young in TechnologyReview.com, such as detecting frequencies a million times higher than the sound waves our normal ears perceive.
The researchers from Princeton and Johns Hopkins joined a radio antenna with a spiral electrode that synthesizes the nerve impulses that sound vibrations normally invoke. A 3-D printer then “printed” the circuit and the ear’s tissue using a gooey “mix of bovine cartilage-forming cells.’’ With a super ear, a person could pick up a broad range of electromagnetic wavelengths, said Chris Lee in ArsTechnica.com. Researchers hope to later enable the ear to amplify normal sound frequencies.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
RFK Jr.'s focus on autism draws the ire of researchers
In the Spotlight Many of Kennedy's assertions have been condemned by experts and advocates
By Theara Coleman, The Week US
-
Protein obsession is oversaturating the health food space
Under the Radar Some experts say that fiber is now the most important macro to focus on
By Justin Klawans, The Week US
-
Codeword: April 23, 2025
The Week's daily codeword puzzle
By The Week Staff