Regenerative Medicine For Deafness
More attention is being given to research into regenerating the mechanisms of hearing that go awry in some forms of deafness. Via CNN: "stem cells have the capacity to regenerate in the inner ear. The stem cells are especially good at growing into the microscopic hair cells that make hearing possible. ... It's like a little microphone in your ear, and when the microphones go bad, then you don't hear anymore. We can grow these tiny microphones from these stem cells ... I hope that in five years, we are at a point that we can say that it is possible to cure deafness, at least in an animal. That will be the first step toward treating human patients. ... if we can restore something to its natural state, why not?" Why not, indeed.
Link: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/08/07/eveningnews/main1872163.shtml