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posted by mrpg on Saturday February 17 2018, @08:01PM   Printer-friendly
from the signal-to-noise-ratio dept.

Diplomats and other victims of mysterious "sonic attacks" at the American embassy in Havana, Cuba are experiencing neurological symptoms months after being affected:

A preliminary case report on the victims of mysterious "health attacks" in Havana, Cuba details the results of extensive clinical evaluations, concluding that the individuals appear to have sustained "injury to widespread brain networks without an associated history of head trauma."

The report offers the first medical glimpse of the victims—US government personnel and their families who were serving on diplomatic assignment in Havana. From late 2016 to August 2017, they reported experiencing bizarre and inexplicable sonic and sensory episodes. The episodes tended to include directional, irritating sounds, such as buzzing and piercing squeals, as well as pressure and vibrations. Afterward, the victims developed a constellation of neurological symptoms.

In clinical evaluations of 21 of 24 individuals affected, an interdisciplinary team of doctors at University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine retrospectively pieced together symptoms—an average of 203 days after individuals were exposed. They found that the most common issues persisting more than three months after exposure were cognitive impairment (17/21); balance issues (15/21); visual (18/21) and hearing (15/21) problems; sleep impairment (18/21); and headaches (16/21).

Previously: U.S. State Department Pulls Employees From Cuba, Issues Travel Warning Due to "Sonic Attacks"
A 'Sonic Attack' on Diplomats in Cuba? These Scientists Doubt It


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  • (Score: 3, Informative) by frojack on Saturday February 17 2018, @08:15PM (19 children)

    by frojack (1554) on Saturday February 17 2018, @08:15PM (#639442) Journal
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  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 17 2018, @08:33PM (10 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 17 2018, @08:33PM (#639445)

    No, that is something entirely different. The reported effects are unlikely to be the result of a "sonic weapon". I'd be looking at microwaves [medicaldaily.com] first and I'd start by eliminating the possibility of a malfunctioning device within the embassy.

    • (Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 17 2018, @10:17PM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 17 2018, @10:17PM (#639483)

      Yup. And are they sure there are no other cause in the environment? Bad paint? Sick building? Built on a chemical dump? I dunno. Maybe the sonic stuff is symptoms, not causes.

      • (Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 17 2018, @10:35PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 17 2018, @10:35PM (#639489)

        Embassy was built on an ancient Taíno graveyard.

        • (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Sunday February 18 2018, @01:00AM

          by fustakrakich (6150) on Sunday February 18 2018, @01:00AM (#639545) Journal

          So it's a Poltergeist? Or maybe the "device" didn't malfunction, but was an experiment. And being in Cuba and all, it's easy just to blame them.

          Is there a way to measure RF exposure after the fact?

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    • (Score: 2) by HiThere on Sunday February 18 2018, @01:36AM (1 child)

      by HiThere (866) Subscriber Badge on Sunday February 18 2018, @01:36AM (#639552) Journal

      Considering everything I'd be looking first for some disease organism, and then for an allergic reaction.

      OTOH, I'm no medic.

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      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 18 2018, @05:27AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 18 2018, @05:27AM (#639610)

        Amazing! I'm sure the "interdisciplinary team of doctors at University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine" never considered the possibility. Have you considered proposing yourself to lead the "interdisciplinary team of doctors at University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine "? I'm sure they would find a room for you with extra soft padded walls.

    • (Score: 2) by driverless on Sunday February 18 2018, @04:53AM (4 children)

      by driverless (4770) on Sunday February 18 2018, @04:53AM (#639604)

      A much simpler explanation is sick building syndrome, which the embassy actually is: They had to spend a ton of money in the 1990s trying to revamp it because of this problem. Looks like they didn't quite succeed.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 18 2018, @05:31AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 18 2018, @05:31AM (#639613)

        Sick building syndrone: "These symptoms appear to be linked to time spent in a building, though no specific illness or cause can be identified"

        How the FUCK is this a much simpler explanation? Perhaps Jesus is putting LSD in the water supply at night because nobody's praying enough - that's a simple explanation, right?

      • (Score: 2) by beckett on Sunday February 18 2018, @05:54AM (1 child)

        by beckett (1115) on Sunday February 18 2018, @05:54AM (#639620)

        What evidence do you have it's the building causing neurological symptoms? if you claim it is due to a reno done in the '90s, there should be a number of cases of these types of disease from the past two decades, as well as reports of deafness.

        Is there any history of building residents becoming sick with similar damage? please post anything you might have; it would be very interesting if you have epidemiology on this building.

        • (Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 18 2018, @02:16PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 18 2018, @02:16PM (#639701)

          The Feng Shui is probably all wrong. One time I moved the sofa in my living room and got terrible pains until I moved it off my foot. Made a huge difference.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 19 2018, @12:53PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 19 2018, @12:53PM (#640062)

        5 Canadian diplomatic staff reported similar symptoms. Mass hysteria could still account for this, but I doubt that environmental contamination local to the US embassy could.

  • (Score: 1) by tftp on Saturday February 17 2018, @08:38PM (7 children)

    by tftp (806) on Saturday February 17 2018, @08:38PM (#639447) Homepage
    ""Long Range Acoustic Devices, which emit an ear-splitting whine, were used intermittently throughout the day" one reporter wrote" - was such a whine heard by the embassy staff? If not, the known LRADs could not be involved.
    • (Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday February 17 2018, @08:48PM (4 children)

      by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Saturday February 17 2018, @08:48PM (#639451) Journal

      Set it to "harsh silence" (>28 kHz).

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      • (Score: 1) by tftp on Saturday February 17 2018, @08:55PM

        by tftp (806) on Saturday February 17 2018, @08:55PM (#639455) Homepage
        Ultrasound doesn't penetrate walls. That's why we use it in sensors. All this covered in the Scientific American article linked above by an AC.
      • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 17 2018, @09:02PM (2 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 17 2018, @09:02PM (#639459)

        Set it to "harsh silence" (>28 kHz).

        The frequency response of monitor loudspeakers with ribbon tweeters extends to 50kHz, I'm sat right in front of a pair. Predominant research into ultrasound is as a treatment for brain injury [fusfoundation.org] not as a viable weapon. [wikipedia.org]

        • (Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday February 17 2018, @10:02PM (1 child)

          by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Saturday February 17 2018, @10:02PM (#639477) Journal

          Ultrasound might be safe for the brain, until you crank up the decibels.

          See also transcranial direct current stimulation [wikipedia.org] vs. electroshock therapy [wikipedia.org].

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          • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 17 2018, @10:33PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 17 2018, @10:33PM (#639488)

            Ultrasound might be safe for the brain, until you crank up the decibels.

            This applies to all sound, some doesn't even require excessive replay level - Miley Cyrus songs for example.

            You'd be aware if a product like this was in use. [argoasecurity.com] If you care to pull up a table of sound absorption coefficients and keep the inverse square law in mind, it should become apparent that something like this would not be effective operated from outside a building.

    • (Score: 2) by frojack on Saturday February 17 2018, @11:16PM (1 child)

      by frojack (1554) on Saturday February 17 2018, @11:16PM (#639508) Journal

      If not, the known LRADs could not be involved.

      Why would you suspect a KNOWN LRAD was used? Do Cuban's patent their clandestine tools with the US Patent Office?
      They would change any known design to be far less detectable.

      The statement was asserted that there was no such weapon known. Yet two seconds of google search shows that there are several such things from many manufacturers both in the US and other countries that are on the market.

      Who knows what else is in the inventory of government agencies, or embedded in the walls of the long vacant embassy. People in the embassy did hear things, loud things, things so loud they would overrun any available microphone and not be recorded.

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      • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 17 2018, @11:44PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 17 2018, @11:44PM (#639518)

        The statement was asserted that there was no such weapon known. Yet two seconds of google search shows that there are several such things from many manufacturers both in the US and other countries that are on the market.

        Sadly, none are capable of violating the laws of physics.

        embedded in the walls of the long vacant embassy.

        There's no plausible scenario where this proposed "sonic weapon" could have originated from outside the building.

        At 50kHz, you're losing 2.4dB/M due to the absorption coefficient of air and a building is going to have a minimum STC rating (for audible frequencies) of 50dB. At ultrasonic frequencies, the absorption coefficient of a building is 1.0 or above. I've worked with shotgun mics (interference tube like the LRAD but in reverse) and parabolas and you'd not stand outside a building and record a conversation occurring inside.

        People in the embassy did hear things, loud things, things so loud they would overrun any available microphone and not be recorded.

        Nobody is disputing this.

        I've already suggested microwaves, as did this AC. [soylentnews.org] Which seems more likely, sonic weapon or microwaves? [nytimes.com]