University of Kansas invents gene therapy to restore natural hearing

Check out our official website: http://us.tomonews.net/
Check out our Android app: http://goo.gl/PtT6VD
Check out our iOS app: http://bit.ly/1gO3z1f

----------------------------------------­----------------------------------------­----------------

The University of Kansas will start clinical trial of a gene therapy technique that can hopefully restore hearing in people with hearing impairment, according to an article published in New Scientist.

People lose their hearing through damage or disease. Commonly used to improve damaged hearing, hearing aids merely amplify sounds. Another treatment is a cochlea transplant, but implants do not help the hearing-impaired pick up all natural frequencies, making it difficult for them to grasp the nuances in speech and music.

The hearing process is still not fully understood. The eardrum vibrates after sound waves enter the ear.The sound waves make their way to the cochlea and the organ of Corti. The outer hair cells amplify the sounds, while the inner hair cells send the information to the hearing nerve.

One of the most common causes of hearing loss is damaged hair cells. In previous experiments, scientists discovered that injecting a virus that contains a special gene named Atoh1 into the cochlea stimulated the regeneration of hair cells in mice.

Currently, researchers are recruiting 45 volunteers to participate in the next stage of the trial.

People born deaf are unlikely to benefit from this new technology because they don't have structures that support hair cells.

----------------------------------------­----------------------------------------­----------------

Welcome to TomoNews, where we animate the most entertaining news on the internets. Come here for an animated look at viral headlines, US news, celebrity gossip, salacious scandals, dumb criminals and much more! Subscribe now for daily news animations that will knock your socks off.

Check out our Android app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nextmedia.gan
Check out our iOS app: https://itunes.apple.com/app/tomonews/id633875353

For news that's fun and never boring, visit our channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/TomoNewsUS

Subscribe to stay updated on all the top stories:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt-WqkTyKK1_70U4bb4k4lQ?sub_confirmation=1

Stay connected with us here:
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TomoNewsUS
Twitter @tomonewsus http://www.twitter.com/TomoNewsUS
Google+ http://plus.google.com/+TomoNewsUS/
Instagram @tomonewsus http://instagram.com/tomonewsus