In auditory eros
2005/11/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria
Scientists have taken another step to understand the genetic path of the ear. In fact, as they have published in the journal Nature Genetics, they have recently discovered how hair cells capture their appearance.
The researchers knew that the ability to listen is largely due to the hair cells found in the cocktail of the inner ear. The cells are asymmetric and thanks to this peculiar shape, the sound waves that penetrate the ear become chemical signals. However, they did not know what genes were involved in the evolution of appearance. Now, using mutated mice, they have seen that the genetic pathway PCP is responsible for it.
In embryo development, the PCP pathway also participates in other mechanisms related to hearing. Research is therefore the starting point for understanding some types of deafness and being able to cure them in the future.
