(AP) Black adults hear better than white adults, a government study found. The study also found that women hear better than men, and that overall, hearing in the United States is about the same as it was 35 years ago, despite the advent of ear-blasting devices such as the Walkman and the iPod.
Previous research reached similar findings about racial and sex differences, but the new study by scientists with the federal National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health was the largest national sample to report such a finding, experts in acoustics said.
The racial difference may be related to melanin, a skin pigment. Some scientists believe black people's larger amounts of melanin protect them from noise-induced hearing loss as the years go by, study researcher William Murphy said. Scientists suspect melanin plays a role in how the body removes harmful chemical compounds caused by damage to the sensitive hair cells in the inner ear.
Genetics or the amount of noise exposure may explain the difference between women and men, said Elliott Berger, an Indianapolis-based hearing protection expert.
"Boys have typically done noisier activities," Berger said.
The conclusion that the nation's overall hearing has not changed since the early 1970s seems to contradict other recent research finding that modern teenagers do not hear as well as children did in the age before mobile listening devices, Berger said.
"You'd think society is noisier now _ iPods are ubiquitous," Murphy said.
The study, reported at a scientific conference last week, looked at more than 5,000 people who had hearing tests from 1999 through 2004 as part of a comprehensive, annual federal health survey that includes physical examinations.
The 10- to 20-minute hearing test involves wearing headphones and pressing a button when a tone is heard. Both frequency and loudness, or decibels, are measured.
People who can hear higher-frequency tones are better at differentiating certain sounds, such as "list" versus "lisp," Murphy said.
On average, the 1,077 non-Hispanic blacks in the study could hear higher tones at 15 to 22 decibels, the study found. The 1,245 Mexican Americans could hear high-end tones at 16 to 25 decibels, on average. The 2,518 non-Hispanic whites could hear high-end tones at 21 to 32 decibels, on average, Murphy said.
Women on average were more sensitive to higher frequency tones. They could heard higher tones at 11 to 22 decibels, compared with 19 to 32 decibels for men.
Overall, the results were mostly the same as in hearing tests done from 1971 to 1975, Murphy said.
posted
There have been many studies confirming higher melanin concentrations in blacks provides them with better eyesight, better hearing, faster reflexes, higher sexual potency, higher immunity to disease, as well as a more stable psychological mindset.
Expectantly, this information is greatly downplayed in the press. We wouldn't want whites implying that blacks are somehow physically superior relative to whites, or that whites are somehow genetically flawed.
Posts: 3595 | From: Moved To Mars. Waiting with shotgun | Registered: Dec 2006
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posted
This might also be of interest to you, African/African-americans are more likely to be "supertasters" or have a high density of taste buds allowing for more intense tasting of foods.
quote: Until the late 1970s, taste researchers grouped people as "tasters" or "nontasters," depending on their ability to taste a chemical called phenylthiocarbamide. Then Linda Bartoshuk, Ph.D., a taste researcher at the Yale University School of Medicine, began to test people for sensitivity to a similar chemical, called 6-n-propylthiouracil. Her research revealed a subset of tasters who were particularly sensitive to the bitter flavor. She dubbed such people "supertasters." About 25 percent of the population are supertasters, 25 percent are nontasters, and the rest regular tasters. Almost two thirds of supertasters are women, and Asians and African-Americans tend to be more sensitive than Caucasians.
quote: There have been many studies confirming higher melanin concentrations in blacks provides them with better eyesight, better hearing, faster reflexes, higher sexual potency, higher immunity to disease, as well as a more stable psychological mindset.
I'd like to see your citations for those claims. I've seen a recent study done by cornell university but it was on relative genetic fitness.
Posts: 426 | From: Cali-for-nia | Registered: Jan 2006
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posted
^Have you ever heard of "Melanin Theory"? Many theories of this variety are forcefully condemned by academics for reasons apparent to most. Though admittedly, when I first started reading some of the stuff out there concerning it, it immediately struck me as loony also. Example:
^Though some of the more far-fetched claims shouldn't distract us from legitimate inquiries about the beneficial aspects of high Melanin content.
Posts: 4021 | From: Bay Area, CA | Registered: Mar 2007
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^ I am always cautious of any scientific finding that involves 'race'. This is not too far from the scientific racism which claims whites are better at this than blacks because --- (bullcrap)...
Sexual differences are one thing like women having better senses which many studies show, but to say differences between blacks and whites... there has to be a catch. So what about Asians? Let me guess Asian males are halfway or moderate between blacks and whites. LOLPosts: 26353 | From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA | Registered: Feb 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Djehuti: ^ I am always cautious of any scientific finding that involves 'race'. This is not too far from the scientific racism which claims whites are better at this than blacks because --- (bullcrap)...
Sexual differences are one thing like women having better senses which many studies show, but to say differences between blacks and whites... there has to be a catch. So what about Asians? Let me guess Asian males are halfway or moderate between blacks and whites. LOL
I applaud skepticism, but such skepticism should have a basis. It goes without saying though that given their hypothesis, East Asains would reflect an intermediate capacity between Blacks and Whites given that they have melanin levels, while diverse, that are intermediate between Blacks and Whites. I don't actually see any correlation with "race" here, nor any support for it. Only melanin, which would just as easily apply to some Indians, SE Asians, Australians, etc.. I have no problem with their explanation for the differences observed, that post-date a previous study which had the same results. What is your protest of the previous study? I'm also not sure exactly how this ties into "scientific racism" either, as much as I don't see how it ties into any gender bias.
Posts: 4021 | From: Bay Area, CA | Registered: Mar 2007
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quote: Have you ever heard of "Melanin Theory"? Many theories of this variety are forcefully condemned by academics for reasons apparent to most. Though admittedly, when I first started reading some of the stuff out there concerning it, it immediately struck me as loony also.
^ No, but its interesting stuff. Though you are correct in that its probably mostly quackery.
However, There are properties to melanin that we are just finding out that are the subject of legitimate study for example:
quote: Scientists have long assumed that fungi exist mainly to decompose matter into chemicals that other organisms can then use. But researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have found evidence that fungi possess a previously undiscovered talent with profound implications: the ability to use radioactivity as an energy source for making food and spurring their growth.
"The fungal kingdom comprises more species than any other plant or animal kingdom, so finding that they're making food in addition to breaking it down means that Earth's energetics-in particular, the amount of radiation energy being converted to biological energy-may need to be recalculated," says Dr. Arturo Casadevall, chair of microbiology and immunology at Einstein and senior author of the study, published May 23 in PLoS ONE.
The ability of fungi to live off radiation could also prove useful to people: "Since ionizing radiation is prevalent in outer space, astronauts might be able to rely on fungi as an inexhaustible food source on long missions or for colonizing other planets," says Dr. Ekaterina Dadachova, associate professor of nuclear medicine and microbiology and immunology at Einstein and lead author of the study.
Those fungi able to "eat" radiation must possess melanin, the pigment found in many if not most fungal species. But up until now, melanin's biological role in fungi-if any--has been a mystery.
"Just as the pigment chlorophyll converts sunlight into chemical energy that allows green plants to live and grow, our research suggests that melanin can use a different portion of the electromagnetic spectrum-ionizing radiation-to benefit the fungi containing it," says Dr. Dadachova..................................... Dr. Casadevall notes that the melanin in fungi is no different chemically from the melanin in our skin. "It's pure speculation but not outside the realm of possibility that melanin could be providing energy to skin cells," he says. "While it wouldn't be enough energy to fuel a run on the beach, maybe it could help you to open an eyelid."
Family (and some friends) NO not to even whisper down the hall around the corner - it's futile!
lol, but seriously I like to casually mention a quote from secret conversations and watch them smiling with a look of 'ohshyt' embarrassment.
quote:"While it wouldn't be enough energy to fuel a run on the beach, maybe it could help you to open an eyelid."
^Could the energy help the melanin counter the aging affects of the sun on skin by directly energizing the skin?
I ask because I don't know exactly what the sun's affects are on skin- all I know is that it roasts you on a very hot day when you're playing sports, and smites you when you're wearing black, can't find no shade, and not even doing anything at all.
quote:Originally posted by akoben08: you laugh at something you have never even investigated. says alot...
Melanin theory is an intensely exciting field. If I could, I'd study biological research to devote much more time to the study of this field. The more I research this topic, the more amazed I am by the level of dependence all life has on melanin.
I spoke with a brother working at Chrsyler Motors. He shared with me some research they are doing to impregnate engines with melanin. Melanin impregnated engines radiated heat 10x more effectively then metal alone.
This is NOT about quackery or race. It really scientifically confirms there exists HUGE fundamental physical differences between melanin enhanced humans and those with severe melanin depletion (WHITES).
We all understand the basic principle of skin cancer and why whites are more prone then blacks to this affliction. Melanin.
Also, it's scientifically confirmed that blue, green, hazel or any other lighter eyes are far less effective in converting light energy to electrical energy then dark brown eyes. The former containing less melanin concentration then the latter. Melanin being the conversion medium. Light eyes are also far less effective in adsorbing radiation free radicals which are also adsorbed by melanin. The lighter less melanin concentrated iris is damaged by these free radicals and over time, the eye suffers heavy damage the same as melaninless skin. Melanin-Free Radical Protection For Eyes
Finally, melanin is responsible for reproduction. All one need do it check out the birth rate records and compare those of whites to those of people of color. As example, NIH records clearly show that whites procreate at a far less rate then people of color. In the US, whites procreate at a rate of; ~90 births per year for every 10,000. Blacks procreate at 220 births/10,000, and Hispanics at 260/10,000. Also, WHITES experienced a 10 fold level of birth defects relative then the other groups. Many times I've had white co-workers tell me after 2 years of trying, they cannot impregnate their wives. They monitor oval cycles, temperatures, diets, and still, no pregnancy. Hell, a brother knocks a woman up without even trying. This is probably why whites are pushing integration so hard. Without it, there's strong possibility over time they'd simply die out.
All the fertility clinics that have sprung up over the last 50 years service WHITE clients. There is a new drug on the market called, Melanotan-II, which helps increase melanin production in WHITES. WHITES don't want to make a big deal of this stuff (although it IS a big deal to them) for obvious reasons. Created to allow WHITES to get a tan without a tanning booth. Instead they just take a pill. During trials (melaotan-I) they discovered that the drug also helps aid WHITE males in treating one of their most serious illnesses (genetic defect) in white male populations, weak sperm and erectile dysfunction.
Melanin research is where it's at for blacks, not DNA. WHITES definitely have the instrumentation to determine if a 4000 year old mummy was black or not using melanin detection. They do not and use DNA instead for good reason. Melanin level detection would be conclusive, while DNA analysis is not.
Do you want a great stock tip? Buy shares in this company; http://www.palatin.com/ They are the company developing this and once it's on the mainstream market, every white person that presently contributes to the multi-billion dollar tanning market, fertility and sexual dysfunction markets will be purchasing this product.
Also, it's scientifically confirmed that blue, green, hazel or any other lighter eyes are far less effective in converting light energy to electrical energy then dark brown eyes. ZAP! The former containing less melanin concentration then the latter. Melanin being the conversion medium.
or dark colors absorb a greater range of wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation.
***********************
Does melanin help speed up the thought process in black brains?
quote:Originally posted by Djehuti: ^Ebony Allen and Takruri are correct, all hair matts if left unkept or washed, especially people with straight hair! The white 'bums' who you saw must have washed or groomed their hair at a shelter or some place for them not to have matted hair, but I have seen my share of white homeless people with very matted hair. I have also seen alot Asians (who have the straightest hair of all) in very matted (messed up) condition from the very poor areas of Asia where water for washing is not available.
The fact is people with long 'straigter' hair have sucutaneous glands in their scalp that produce more oil. For people with such a type of hair to go for long periods of time without washing it, especially in areas that are hot and humid... well it doesn't look pretty! I have seen pictures of white people who have been in the tropics without bathing for days, and their hair can turn green with fungus. Black people I assume don't have that problem, since their hair does not grow as long or produce as much oils. It makes sense considering the adaptation to the environment.
quote:Originally posted by meninarmer: Melanin Factors
Karanja Keita Carroll
The most important aspect of hair on one’s head is to protect the scalp from UV rays. This reflects the variations in tight curled hair to straight hair, depending ultimately on the relationship between humans and their respective environment. Melanin, in the hair, reflects the ability to absorb UV rays. While this area is probably the most unclear and confusing since hair grows out of the epidermal tissue and epidermal tissue is an outgrowth of the ectoderm, there should be some significance to internal functioning.
Melanin in the brain increases from lower primates and reaches its highest level in the black human (King, 2001a, 2001b). The Central Nervous System (CNS) maintains bodily control by integrating all body functions. Since melanin is found in the CNS, it allows for quicker reaction time, mental awareness and a greater capacity for the transmission of brain impulses (Owens Moore, 1995). http://astro.temple.edu/~karanja/Melanin%20Factors.htm
The ironic thing is that people with with straighter hair, like whites have to worry about heat damage to their hair caused by the sun. Blacks, or at least those with their natural hair texture don't have to worry about that unless they straighten their hair.
quote:I am always cautious of any scientific finding that involves 'race'.
Or can be interpreted as involving race, or that falls in line with racial motives, indeed.
Posts: 5555 | From: Tha 5th Dimension. | Registered: Apr 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Djehuti: ^ I am always cautious of any scientific finding that involves 'race'. This is not too far from the scientific racism which claims whites are better at this than blacks because --- (bullcrap)...
Sexual differences are one thing like women having better senses which many studies show, but to say differences between blacks and whites... there has to be a catch. So what about Asians? Let me guess Asian males are halfway or moderate between blacks and whites. LOL
I applaud skepticism, but such skepticism should have a basis. It goes without saying though that given their hypothesis, East Asains would reflect an intermediate capacity between Blacks and Whites given that they have melanin levels, while diverse, that are intermediate between Blacks and Whites. I don't actually see any correlation with "race" here, nor any support for it. Only melanin, which would just as easily apply to some Indians, SE Asians, Australians, etc.. I have no problem with their explanation for the differences observed, that post-date a previous study which had the same results. What is your protest of the previous study? I'm also not sure exactly how this ties into "scientific racism" either, as much as I don't see how it ties into any gender bias.
Thats the whole fu cking point Sundjata, why WEREN'T Indians tested?!?! There are more Indians than there are Whites or Blacks. There are more non Whites and non Blacks than there are Whites and Blacks.
How come this test was only for Whites and Blacks? That is why Djehuty as well as I realize this is a SET UP.
I can just see these so called "scientists" now saying:
"Sure we'll placate the negro into believing *it* can hear and taste and see better so they can stroke on it like a voodoo doll, but when it comes to building civilizations, intelligence, work ethic, morality, learning and all the pertinent things that human beings do and need; WHITES WILL ALWAYS BE AT THE TOP."
It's sad that beat down insecure negros like you Sundjata will fall for ANYTHING just to make yourself feel good for a couple of weeks like the typical whore you Afro Americans seem to be smh. SAD and PATHETIC.
And yet I'AM the White guy?!?!
LMAO!!!!!!!! That's just funny to me, but I am used to it because ever since I was a kid I was called white by "Afro American niggers" because I spoke "proper" and valued education and had morals...again SAD.
Posts: 343 | Registered: Feb 2008
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quote:Originally posted by Wolofi: ...you Afro Americans seem to be smh. SAD and PATHETIC.
And yet I'AM the White guy?!?!
Damn right you are... smh... with your typical whiteboy slangs .
Posts: 3423 | From: the jungle - when y'all stop playing games, call me. | Registered: Jul 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Djehuti: ^ I am always cautious of any scientific finding that involves 'race'. This is not too far from the scientific racism which claims whites are better at this than blacks because --- (bullcrap)... [/b]
Evergreen Writes:
1. How do you define "race" and "racism"?
2. What is scientific racism and what is wrong with this concept?
Posts: 2007 | From: Washington State | Registered: Oct 2006
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posted
Over the centuries, blacks have a developed a 7th sense based on multisensory stimulus and analytical pattern recognition.. The highly sensitive and dynamically tuned, incrementally adjusted, "white" detector.
BLUE EYED GUYS Have the highest Hearing risk. Iris pigmentation can be used as a course melanin density indication. Eye color being proportionate to overall body melanin concentrations.
Melanocytes originate as nonpigmented precursors termed melanoblasts in the mouse neural crest at around embryonic day 10.5 (E10.5), and following migration and proliferation reach the limb buds by E12 and enter the epidermis at the level of the lateral trunk by E13/E14 (Mayer 1973). Melanocytes are found as mature pigment cells in the skin and hair follicles, as well as a range of other sites where their role as pigment-producing cells is less understood. Thus, melanocytes are present in the Choroid layer of the eye, the Harderian gland, the anal canal, and in the stria vascularis of the inner ear where they are crucial for hearing because they play a vital role in the endolymph-controlled generation of action potentials (Steel and Barkway 1989; Tachibana 1999). The effects of mutations affecting genes playing a key role in the melanocyte lineage may therefore be manifest at several levels: Mutations may affect genes required for differentiation-specific functions such as the genesis of pigment, or more interestingly from the developmental perspective, any step from the specification and commitment to the melanocyte lineage, to the survival, proliferation, and migration of melanoblasts from the neural crest.
Neural crest to melanoma: signal transduction and transcription in the melanocyte lineage Colin R. Goding1
Eukaryotic Transcription Laboratory, Marie Curie Research Institute Vol. 14, No. 14, pp. 1712-1728, July 15, 2000
Posts: 3595 | From: Moved To Mars. Waiting with shotgun | Registered: Dec 2006
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^Indeed, there is nothing racial about that, as the link doesn't even say whether melanin's role in neurotransmitters is absent in whites or not.
Hereis something that could be viewed as racial/ethnic (make sure to read the bolded) but is just reality as confirmed by science:
Jablonski NG, Chaplin G.
Department of Anthropology, California Academy of Sciences, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA 94118-4599, USA. njablonski@calacademy.org
Skin color is one of the most conspicuous ways in which humans vary and has been widely used to define human races. Here we present new evidence indicating that variations in skin color are adaptive, and are related to the regulation of ultraviolet (UV) radiation penetration in the integument and its direct and indirect effects on fitness. Using remotely sensed data on UV radiation levels, hypotheses concerning the distribution of the skin colors of indigenous peoples relative to UV levels were tested quantitatively in this study for the first time.The major results of this study are: (1) skin reflectance is strongly correlated with absolute latitude and UV radiation levels. The highest correlation between skin reflectance and UV levels was observed at 545 nm, near the absorption maximum for oxyhemoglobin, suggesting that the main role of melanin pigmentation in humans is regulation of the effects of UV radiation on the contents of cutaneous blood vessels located in the dermis. (2) Predicted skin reflectances deviated little from observed values. (3) In all populations for which skin reflectance data were available for males and females, females were found to be lighter skinned than males. (4) The clinal gradation of skin coloration observed among indigenous peoples is correlated with UV radiation levels and represents a compromise solution to the conflicting physiological requirements of photoprotection and vitamin D synthesis.The earliest members of the hominid lineage probably had a mostly unpigmented or lightly pigmented integument covered with dark black hair, similar to that of the modern chimpanzee. The evolution of a naked, darkly pigmented integument occurred early in the evolution of the genus Homo. A dark epidermis protected sweat glands from UV-induced injury, thus insuring the integrity of somatic thermoregulation. Of greater significance to individual reproductive success was that highly melanized skin protected against UV-induced photolysis of folate (Branda & Eaton, 1978, Science201, 625-626; Jablonski, 1992, Proc. Australas. Soc. Hum. Biol.5, 455-462, 1999, Med. Hypotheses52, 581-582), a metabolite essential for normal development of the embryonic neural tube (Bower & Stanley, 1989, The Medical Journal of Australia150, 613-619; Medical Research Council Vitamin Research Group, 1991, The Lancet338, 31-37) and spermatogenesis (Cosentino et al., 1990, Proc. Natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.87, 1431-1435; Mathur et al., 1977, Fertility Sterility28, 1356-1360).As hominids migrated outside of the tropics, varying degrees of depigmentation evolved in order to permit UVB-induced synthesis of previtamin D(3). The lighter color of female skin may be required to permit synthesis of the relatively higher amounts of vitamin D(3)necessary during pregnancy and lactation.Skin coloration in humans is adaptive and labile. Skin pigmentation levels have changed more than once in human evolution. Because of this, skin coloration is of no value in determining phylogenetic relationships among modern human groups. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.
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