Spring 2003Contents
page 1
NIDCD Working Group: Better Communication Needed to Reduce Infants ‘Lost to Follow-Up’
page 2
Why Johnny Is Sick:
Researcher Strengthens Health, Literacy Link
page 3
Information Exchange
page 4
WISE EARS!® Update
page 5
New Resources
page 6
Research Report
page 7
EBookmarks
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Research Report
Key to Lifelong Hearing
Why do some people recover from noise exposure in a matter of hours or days? Why, in fact, can humans make use of the hair cells' mechanically-sensitive stereocilia to hear throughout the auditory punishments of a lifetime? Most mechanical systems, when assaulted, break down.
According to Dr. Bechara Kachar and others at the NIDCD Section on Structural Biology, "the answer to this rapid recovery appears to be centered in a ‘treadmill’ of renewal, running from the tip of the sensory stereocilia to the base." The study, titled "Rapid Renewal of Auditory Hair Bundles," is in the August 22 issue of Nature.
Outsmarting a Mosquito's Sense of Smell
Malaria kills 2.7 million people each year and threatens 40 percent of the world's population. But NIDCD-supported scientists are steps closer to foiling the vector that transmits the disease, according to a study in the Oct. 4 issue of Science.
Researchers have identified 276 genes that code for the G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) in Anopheles gambiae, the species of mosquito that spreads most malaria cases in the world. A GPCR is a type of protein that helps a cell respond to substances in its environment. In Anopheles, 79 GPCRs are devoted to smell and 76 to taste.
By understanding the mosquito's sense of smell and taste, researchers can thwart it from biting humans and transmitting the disease further. The findings may help scientists develop repellants and attractants that are smarter, more economical, and more ecologically friendly.
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