This week in GEMS we learned all about sound. We modeled how sound moves differently through different materials, like solids, liquids, and air. We generated sounds on computers using a program called LabVIEW and observed how sound waves change when their frequency and amplitudes are adjusted. We also learned about how our ears are able to decode sound waves, and how devices like hearing aides and cochlear implants can restore the sense of hearing to people who have experienced ear injuries. Much like our noses, our ears take stimuli from the outside world (sound waves in this case) and turn them into electrical signals for transmission to the brain on the vestibulocochlear nerve. This process of changing a mechanical signal (pressure waves) into an electrical nerve impulse is called "transduction" and is not very well understood. Dr. Elgoyhen and her colleagues at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute are working to understand how chemical signals are used to transduce the deflection of hair cells in the cochlea in response to changing pressures into electrical nerve signals to send to the brain. Dr. Elgoyhen has identified two previously unknown cellular receptors (parts of cells that collect and respond to certain chemicals) that are a part of this transduction process. She has also worked to identify some of the genes that are responsible for making these receptors. Dr. Elgoyhen hopes that by furthering our understanding of how our ears hear, we will be able to understand how certain drugs and loud noises can cause hearing loss, which will in turn allow doctors to prevent some people from experience significant hearing loss.
Dr. Elgoyhen currently works at the Institute for Research on Genetic Engineering and Molecular Biology, National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET), in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She recieved her Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Buenos Aires, and was awarded the L’Oréal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science for Latin American region in 2008.
See more about Dr. Elgoyhen and her research
Learn more about the L’Oréal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science and this years winners
Here is some more information about cochlear implants
Want to learn more about biochemistry and molecular biology?
No comments:
Post a Comment