Scientists 'working to end need for hearing aids'

Hearing aids could become a thing of the past if scientists have their way.

Researchers at Stanford University, California, have recently created specialised ear cells in the lab by using stem cells - blank cells which can turn into other cell types.
In the future, these cells, which are actually delicate hairs, could be transplanted into the inner ear, restoring hearing to millions.
The study, which is published in the journal Cell, notes that the hairs, which were made from mice, looked and acted like the real thing.

Researcher Stefan Heller said: "We knew it was really working when we saw them in the electron microscope.

"They looked more or less like they were taken out of the ear."

According to the Royal National Institute for Deaf People, about two million people in the UK currently use hearing aids.

Source: Google News
Date: 26/08/2010