Although music is considered a purely auditory experience, visual cues can unconsciously influence performance judgements—a phenomenon known as the sight-over-sound effect. To explore how one’s musical expertise can affect this bias, researchers from Japan conducted a controlled study using recordings from Japanese high school brass band competitions. Their results reveal that the effect predominantly appears in musicians without genre-specific experience, highlighting how specialized training can shape multisensory evaluation in music perception and judgement.

Researchers from The University of Osaka have developed a mathematical model for Volterra defects using differential geometry to analyze the relationships between different types of defects. Their work provides insight into the connections between edge dislocations and wedge disclinations and extends traditional theories in material science. Their results may help to explain the unusual mechanical properties of crystals so they can be used to design new materials.

A groundbreaking new method developed at The University of Osaka calculates the entropy of liquids using a non-empirical approach, requiring only the atomic species as input. This revolutionary technique eliminates the need for extensive experimental data, paving the way for enhanced predictions of chemical reactions and optimization of industrial applications involving liquids.

Long-term musical training may mitigate the age-related decline in speech perception by enhancing cognitive reserve, according to a study published July 15^th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Claude Alain from the Baycrest Academy for Research and Education, Canada, and Yi Du from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.