HomeHealth InfoInside NIDCD NewsletterSummer 2012
Summer 2012
Feature Article
We take for granted the ability to pay attention to one voice among many in a crowded restaurant or party. But how exactly does selective hearing happen in the brain? Read more.
Recent Research and News
NIDCD and NIDCR scientists have identified two ways in which cells can migrate in three dimensions, as well as the intracellular and extracellular factors that govern which mode of migration will occur. Read the full version.
NIDCD intramural scientists describe how one protein helps another in the growth and maintenance of stereocilia, the bristly protrusions from sensory hair cells in the inner ear that turn vibrations into the electrical signals that the brain recognizes as sound. Read the full version.
Usher syndrome, a disorder that causes deafness, blindness, and balance problems, can result from a mutant copy of any one of several different genes. But some mutations of the same genes that cause Usher syndrome can cause hearing loss alone, without any accompanying blindness or balance problems. Read the full version.
NIDCD-funded researchers have identified two proteins that may be the key components of the mechanotransduction channel in the inner ear. Read the full version.
NIDCD Highlights
The NIDCD has released a new five-year Strategic Plan to help prioritize research funding by identifying areas of outstanding promise and areas where there are gaps in knowledge. Read more.
Lana Shekim, Ph.D., program director of the voice and speech program at the NIDCD, spent two months in Jordan, as a fellow of the U.S. Embassy. Read more.
Grants News
Two clinical trial funding announcements use a new, cooperative agreement mechanism (U01 and U34). Read more.
NIDCD grantees John R. Carlson, Ph.D., and Liqun Luo, Ph.D., were recently elected members of the National Academy of Sciences. Read more.
Plus