A team of scientists has figured out how to transfer special genes to regenerate damaged cells in the inner ear, a technique that researchers say could one day lead to the restoration of hearing for both children born deaf and the elderly who are hard-of-hearing.
UW otolaryngologist Samuel Gubbels, working with a team of scientists at Oregon Health and Science University and Stanford University, grew specialized cells crucial for hearing by transferring a gene responsible for the formation of those cells into the inner ear of mouse embryos.