After a decades-long pursuit, researchers have confirmed the identity of the pore of the mechanotransduction channel in vertebrates’ inner ear hair cells.

The tissue, grown on a 3-D scaffold and seeded from the kids’ own cells, was transplanted to correct deformities in their cartilage.

Deficiency in a protein called pejvakin makes inner ear cells more vulnerable to sound, unable to brace themselves against oxidative stress stimulated by noise. 

Localization of two proteins important for inner ear hair cell function suggests they are part of the elusive mechanotransduction channel. 

Meet some of the people featured in the September 2015 issue of The Scientist.

Scientists map the position of cells within the organ of Corti.

Fetal specimens collected by commercial whalers offer insights into how whales may have evolved their specialized hearing organs.

A teaching obligation in graduate school introduced James Hudspeth to a career focused on how vertebrates sense sounds.

A molecular signature makes it possible to trace the details of hair cell replacement in the mammalian inner ear.