Zebrafish study offers clues to pave the way for hearing loss treatments

In contrast to species which continually generate new hair cells, humans are among the mammals that just can't hack it. Once hair cells die from ageing or after prolonged noise exposure, they do not regenerate. But what if scientists could make that happen? It's a long way off, but some important clues to how as to how this process might be encouraged are appearing from within a lab - Piotrowski Lab - set up at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research in Kansas City, USA. This specific laboratory, aided by funding from the Hearing Health Foundation and institutional support from Stower, has turned square on to examine our old friend the zebrafish, whose lateral line develops from a group of around 100 cells, the primordium, formed from the fish's ear down towards the tail...