Channel protein converts vibrations to electrical signal
...he journal Nature. The cells that line the inner ear and convert mechanical sound vibrations into elect...d that the TRPA1 gene was expressed in the inner ear of the mouse, including in the hair cells. Not only was TRPA1 in the right place to be the channel...'Blind' cells see the light; maybe someday humans will, too
...te. Though this technique works fairly well in the ear -- witness the success of cochlear implants -- the eye is a much more complicated place, Kramer said. "This is a more organic, less invasive approach than electrodes," Kramer said, noting that insertion of electrodes can cause problems with biocompat...New study discovers why 'persister' cells never say die
...hey can also take the form of periodontal disease, ear infections or fatal lung infections. The infection can be nearly impossible to eradicate, requiring implants to be removed at great risk and cost. Deleting or deactivating the HipA gene could save thousands of lives and millions of dollars....In wake of Lyme disease vaccine for people, mice may be next in line for shots
... ticks she's seen as many as 60 stuck to just one ear of a mouse. All mice were tagged and vaccinated with the Lyme vaccine, then rehydrated with an apple slice and released. In the end, she ended up with medical records of nearly 1,000 mice. "I had to keep track of every mouse, because I want...Zebrafish may hold key to understanding human nerve cell development
...sors -- the specialized neurons found in the inner ear of humans that make hearing possible. This researc...humans hair cells are buried deep inside the inner ear making them difficult to access. Hair cells in zebrafish are located on the surface of their body an...Can plant research lead to new insights in cancer research?
...r In a small plant like Arabidopsis (or the mouse ear cress), processes such as DNA doubling and cell division are also subject to a complex control system. The VIB research group, under the direction of Lieven De Veylder and Dirk Inz, is studying cell division in Arabidopsis during the plant's develop...Research identifies promising route for treating age-related hearing loss
...tion of new hair cells in the cochlea of the inner ear -- a finding that offers promise for treatment of ...ocking out the Rb1 gene in cultured mature inner ear cells from mice triggered the cells to begin proliferating. "This experiment demonstrated that it wa...Loss of sight and enhanced hearing: A neural picture
... requires integrating information available to one ear only (monaural sounds available, for example, when one ear is plugged) or information derived from comparing sounds binaurally--is particularly suited to inves...Prehistoric jawbone reveals evolution repeating itself
...es from the jaw into the small bones of the middle ear occurred at least twice in the evolutionary lines ...all primitive mammal much like today's shrew. "The ear bones are still attached to the lower jaw, which implies that this shift had to occur in later monot......ing problem for a host of diseases, from childhood ear infections to malaria. Last year, the FDA published a report calling attention to inefficiencies in the drug and medical product development process, urging changes to make the process "more predictable and less costly." The latest estimates put the...New findings about protection against pneumococcal disease
... Prevnar, S. pneumoniae caused more than 7 million ear infections each year, half a million episodes of bacterial pneumonia, and life-threatening cases of meningitis and bacteremia. Prevnar is made up of material from the outer capsule of each of the seven pneumococcal strains most common in the U.S. Thi...Royal Society study on adaptability of fish to warming oceans
...on between eye size and visual acuity, and between ear size and the frequency range of hearing. It is now possible to investigate the relation between the size of the organ of smell and olfactory performance. Contact: Dr H Pihlstrom, Dept of Biosciences, University of Helsinki, PO Box 65, FIN-00014, Finl...Researchers estimate polluted O.C. beaches cost public $3.3 million annually
...s of stomach illness, respiratory disease and eye, ear and skin infections caused by exposure to the polluted waters in a typical year. This is the first study to estimate the economic impact of illnesses associated with polluted recreational waters, although similar calculations have been done regarding...Scientists journey to southern Africa to unravel the secret world of elephant communication
... extra holes in his large ears. "He's got a lot of ear piercings, hence his name," she explains.Unlike the other males, whose trunks are frozen in midair, Billy Idol has placed his flat on the ground, the tip pointing inward toward his front feet. Billy and the others remain still like statues for severa...How chronic exposure to tiny levels of carbon monoxide damages hearing in young ears
...w levels of carbon monoxide (CO) damages the inner ear of young rats, resulting in permanent hearing loss. At the Ca/OSHA's exposure limit of 0.0025 percent -- or 25 parts per million CO in the air -- the gas creates oxidative stress, a condition that damages the cochlear cells, leading to impairment of......vestibular (balance) system relies on fluid-filled ear canals that tell us which end is up. The toadfish vestibular system is similar enough to the human version to make comparisons meaningful but with an easier to explore nerve layout. MBL researchers have used the toadfish as a model for research into ...Chickadees' alarm calls carry information about size, threat of predators
There's more than meets the human ear when the black-capped chickadee lets its flock mates know a predator is lurking about by giving out its familiar "chick-a-dee-dee-dee" call. The small songbirds, which are common throughout much of North America, use that signature call in a wide va...How fish hear and make sounds at same time
...ntrols the vocal muscle system and the part of the ear that hears sound. The researchers believe that und...r, the midshipman uses the sacculus, a part of the ear that in humans detects acceleration or linear movement. Because the study indicates a relationship b...Gene for immune deficiency syndromes found
...ith either condition suffer relentlessly recurring ear infections, sinus infections, bronchitis, pneumonias and gastrointestinal infections. IgA deficiency and CVID can occur in the same family, and also predispose people to autoimmunity, particularly affecting the thyroid gland and resulting in thyroid ...'Harmless' bacterium found to cause 10 percent of COPD flare-ups
...ogen. "We know that M. catarrhalis causes ear infections in children," said Murphy. "With these new observations regarding the importance of the bacterium in adults with COPD, we have even more reason to forge ahead with developing a vaccine to prevent M. catarrhalis infections."...