Scientists probe the role of motor protein in hearing loss
Monday, March 7, 2011 - 12:10
in Biology & Nature
From grinding heavy metal to soothing ocean waves, the sounds we hear are all perceptible thanks to the vibrations felt by tiny molecular motors in the hair cells of the inner ear. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have now identified the mechanism by which a single amino acid change can disrupt the normal functioning of one of the critical components of that physiology - a molecular motor protein called myo1c, which resides in the cochlea of the inner ear...