New Study Charts Developmental Map of Inner Ear Sound Sensor in Mice
BETHESDA, MARYLAND — A team of researchers has generated a developmental map of a key sound-sensing structure in the mouse inner ear. Scientists at the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), part of the National Institutes of Health, and their collaborators analyzed data from 30,000 cells from mouse cochlea, the snail-shaped structure…
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Researchers Use Advanced 3D Imaging to Map Blood Vessels of the Inner Ear
Swedish and Canadian researchers have used an advanced 3D imaging technique, synchrotron X-rays, to three-dimensionally map the blood vessels of the inner ear. To be able to study the blood vessels in the inner auditory organ, the researchers used the synchrotron system in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. The system, which is one of eight in the…
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Prestigious Kavli Prize in Neuroscience Awarded to Trio of Researchers for Work on Molecular and Neural Mechanisms of Hearing
OSLO, NORWAY — The Kavli Prizes recognize scientists for pioneering advances and are presented every two years in the fields of astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience. Laureates are chosen by committees whose members are recommended by six of the world’s most renowned science societies and academies. This year, a trio of scientists have been awarded the 2018…
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Frequency Therapeutics Announces Successful Completion of First-in-Human Study of FX-322, Company’s Leading Candidate for Hearing Restoration
WOBURN, MASSACHUSSETTS – Biotech startup, Frequency Therapeutics, announced late last month the successful completion of a first-in-human study of the company’s investigative compound FX-322, the company’s lead Progenitor Cell Activation (PCA) candidate for hearing restoration. The preliminary results were recently presented at a lecture last month at the US-Japan Symposium on Drug Delivery. According to…
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Boston-Based Biotech, Akouos, Nets $7.5M Investment to “Restore and Preserve Hearing”
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS — Biotechnology startup, Akouos, announced that it has raised $7.5 million in seed funding. The company, which was spun out of the Harvard Innovation Labs, is developing novel therapies and delivery systems to prevent hearing loss and restore hearing in genetically defined populations. New Enterprise Associates (NEA), who led the seed funding along…
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Using Laser Light to Restore Sound: Researchers Develop Optical Cochlear Implant
European engineers from Germany, Switzerland, and Austria have invented a new type of cochlear implant. Unlike traditional cochlear implants that stimulate auditory nerves with electrical fields, the prototype device uses laser pulses to trigger auditory signals from hair cells in the inner ear. The benefit, say the researchers, is a much more focused device that…
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Researchers Develop Ear-Worn Device that Could Lead to Improved Monitoring of Vital Signs
LONDON, ENGLAND – Researchers at the Imperial College of London (ICL) have developed an ear-worn sensor to monitor heart, brain and lung function. Their latest study, published in the Royal Society Open Science journal, suggests the device has the potential as a heart monitor and “opens up a range of new possibilities in the identification and…
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University of Maryland Receives $8 Million Federal Grant for Hearing Loss Research
COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND — Researchers at the University of Maryland, using an $8 million grant from The National Institute on Aging, are collaborating to investigate hearing loss and brain function. The five-year grant will fund three such projects at the university, which researchers hope to begin as soon as possible. It is estimated that there…
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Study Shows Potential Promise and Peril in Reversing Cochlear Hearing Loss
Hearing loss is a serious global morbidity that affects 360 million people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. At a basic level, hearing loss of adult onset can be a source of social isolation and even depression for individuals coping with its ill-effects. Even more consequential, children with hearing loss are at risk of…
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New Study Finds No Relationship Between Common Recreational Noise Exposure, “Hidden Hearing Loss”
DALLAS, TEXAS — According to a recently published study, no relationship has been found between common recreational noise exposure and so-called “hidden hearing loss”. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Texas (UT) Dallas, was published last month in Frontiers in Neuroscience. Previously, researchers have proposed that recreational noise exposure may result in…
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