Julie Andrews' range could be restored
The Sound of Music star may be given synthetic vocal cords by award-winning Robert Langer The hills could soon be alive with the sound of music again. Scientists working with the actor and singer Julie Andrews are carrying out a trial of synthetic vocal cords to replace those damaged when she underwent surgery. Animal trials of the artificial vocal cords are under way and researchers expect to test them in humans for the first time in the next two years. Andrews, 74, who is most famous for playing Maria von Trapp in The Sound of Music, lost her ability to hold a note, not to mention her five-octave range, in 1997 when surgery to remove non-cancerous nodules from her vocal cords left them badly scarred. Scar tissue is much stiffer than healthy vocal cord tissue and disrupts the natural vibrations of the voicebox, preventing the production of...
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