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Study: French horn players are one of the most at-risk groups of developing NIHL

Professional French horn players may need to seriously consider adopting effective strategies to prevent noise induced hearing loss (NIHL). A new study published online in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene (JOEH) found further evidence that French horn players are one of the most at-risk groups of developing NIHL among professional orchestral musicians.

25 Sep 2013

Study: Bird brain can serve as useful model to study human brain

Pursuing their interests in using the brains of birds as a model for the human brain, an international team of researchers led by Duke neuroscientist Erich Jarvis and his collaborators Chun-Chun Chen and Kazuhiro Wada have just completed a mapping of the bird brain based on a 10-year exploration of the tiny cerebrums of eight species of birds.

19 Sep 2013

Study evaluates effectiveness of new meningitis serogroup A vaccine in sub-Saharan Africa

Evaluation of the effectiveness of a mass vaccination campaign with a new meningitis serogroup A vaccine, PsA-TT, in sub-Saharan Africa found that it had a dramatic impact on cases of serogroup meningitis and on carriage of the disease-causing bacteria in the throat, according to new research published in The Lancet.

13 Sep 2013

Understanding single-sided deafness

Single-sided deafness, or being deaf in one ear, isn't exactly the poster-child for disabilities. Rather, it's an overlooked condition that is often misunderstood by the public. There is no way to see SSD, also called profound unilateral hearing loss, so those who suffer from it are often misperceived as "rude" or "unintelligent" when they don't understand or quickly respond to others. That's just one of the many hidden struggles associated with this condition.

5 Sep 2013

Scientists uncover neural mechanisms that may help in treatment of language disorders in children

USC scientists have discovered a population of neurons in the brains of juvenile songbirds that are necessary for allowing the birds to recognize the vocal sounds they are learning to imitate.

5 Sep 2013

NIH awards grant to FDA-approved clinical trial of auditory brainstem implant in children

House Research Institute (HRI) and Children's Hospital Los Angeles Children's Hospital) announced today final approval of grant funding by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute on Deafness and Communications Disorders (NIDCD) for a major five-year, FDA-approved clinical trial of the auditory brainstem implant (ABI) in children.

21 Aug 2013

Pregnant women with thyroid hormone deficiency are 4 times likelier to produce autistic children

Pregnant women who don't make nearly enough thyroid hormone are nearly 4 times likelier to produce autistic children than healthy women, report scientists from the Houston Methodist Neurological Institute and Erasmus Medical Centre in an upcoming Annals of Neurology (online today).

14 Aug 2013

Simple tests to recognize ability of famous people may help doctors identify early dementia

A new study suggests that simple tests that measure the ability to recognize and name famous people such as Albert Einstein, Bill Gates or Oprah Winfrey may help doctors identify early dementia in those 40 to 65 years of age.

13 Aug 2013

Learning "grammar" helps determine whether gene gets switched on or not

Researchers have probed deep into the cell's genome, beyond the basic genetic code, to begin learning the "grammar" that helps determine whether or not a gene gets switched on to make the protein it encodes.

13 Aug 2013

Supporting cells in the inner ear can help repair damaged sensory hair cells, say researchers

Researchers have found in mice that supporting cells in the inner ear, once thought to serve only a structural role, can actively help repair damaged sensory hair cells, the functional cells that turn vibrations into the electrical signals that the brain recognizes as sound.

26 Jul 2013

New research project has potential to treat human deafness and loss of balance

The sounds of success are ringing at Kansas State University through a research project that has potential to treat human deafness and loss of balance.

20 Jul 2013

Researchers identify cellular channels critical for hearing

Ending a 30-year search by scientists, researchers at Boston Children's Hospital have identified two proteins in the inner ear that are critical for hearing, which, when damaged by genetic mutations, cause a form of delayed, progressive hearing loss. Findings were published online July 18 by the journal Neuron.

19 Jul 2013

Immunization in developing countries: an interview with Dr. Jos Vandelaer, Chief of Immunization for UNICEF

Overall, worldwide, immunization programs reach around 83% of all children – this is an enormous achievement. With this level of immunization coverage, we prevent over 2 million deaths, year after year. This statistic is often forgotten or taken for granted.

11 Jul 2013

NIH awards Shared Instrumentation Grant to install 3D X-ray microscope at Creighton University

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) have awarded Mohammed Akhter, Ph.D., P.E., professor of medicine at Creighton University School of Medicine and director of the biomechanics laboratory at the Osteoporosis Research Center, a nearly $600,000 Shared Instrumentation Grant to install the area's first high-resolution 3D X-ray Microscope, the Xradia MicroXCT-200.

11 Jul 2013

Massachusetts Eye and Ear enrolls deaf children in new clinical trial of Auditory Brainstem Implant

The Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, a Harvard Medical School teaching affiliate, is now enrolling a select group of deaf infants and children in a new FDA-approved clinical trial of an Auditory Brainstem Implant.

12 Jun 2013

LSUHSC audiologists recommend people to use today's technology to protect their hearing health

After studying noise in one French Quarter neighborhood of New Orleans to determine whether or not noise levels exceeded municipal ordinances, Annette Hurley, PhD, Assistant Professor of Audiology at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, and Eric Arriaga, a third-year LSUHSC doctor of audiology student, recommend that people use today's technology to protect their own hearing health.

27 May 2013

Sterling Insurance increases availability of Sterling Critical Condition to 31 states

Sterling Insurance is proud to announce the expansion of Sterling Critical Condition in 18 additional states, increasing the availability to 31 states.

15 May 2013

Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB): an interview with Dr. Jennifer Cohn, Médecins Sans Frontières

MDR-TB is tuberculosis, a mycobacterial infection, that has developed resistance to two important and powerful first-line anti-TB drugs, INH and rifampin.

26 Apr 2013

Monell Center molecular neurobiologist to receive Ajinomoto Award for Young Investigators in Gustation

Monell Center molecular neurobiologist Peihua Jiang, PhD, is the 2013 recipient of the Ajinomoto Award for Young Investigators in Gustation, an annual award presented by the Association for Chemoreception Sciences (AChemS) to an exceptional junior scientist who is a rising leader in the field of gustation.

16 Apr 2013

Pneumococcal vaccine: an interview with Graham Clarke, CEO ImmBio

The pathogen that we are talking about is called streptococcus pneumoniae. That is a fairly common bacteria and if you did a nasal swab you would find that quite a lot of people have this bacterium living in their nasal passages.