Berkeley Lab scientists have for the first time pieced together the three-dimensional structure of one of nature’s most exquisite pieces of machinery, a gossamer-like filament of proteins in the inner ear that enables the sense of hearing and balance.The filaments help transform the mechanical vibrations of sound into electrical signals that can be interpreted by the brain. They are only four nanometers wide and 160 nanometers long (one nanometer is one-billionth of a meter), but if enough of them break, the world becomes silent.
The work opens the door for a more fundamental understanding of how hearing works. It may also lead to improved ways to treat some forms of hearing loss, which affects about ten percent of people.
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