sense of hearing

Immunofluorescence of the mouse inner ear. The spiral structure of the inner ear consists of hair cells and supporting cells, which together allow us to hear. Each cell type is shown in a different color. Image: Dr. Shahar Tiber

The long and winding route of sound

Researchers examined DNA samples of 1,200 deaf Israeli-Jews, in order to understand the damage caused to the structure of the proteins in the hearing system
Urban bat (photo: Yuval Barkai)

Bats also lose their hearing but the process happens in a moderate way in relation to their noisy living environment

Two surprising discoveries: contrary to the popular hypothesis, bats do suffer from hearing loss with age, but they apparently have surprising mechanisms that help them slow down the rate of hearing loss
Another hint that plants hear is a phenomenon called "buzz pollination", in which, it has been demonstrated, the buzzing of a bee at a certain frequency stimulates the plant to release pollen. Photo: Bob Peterson.

Do plants hear?

The structure of the ear and the sense of hearing. Illustration: Prof. Keren Avraham, Tel Aviv University

A protein was discovered whose absence causes hearing disorders

A blind boy from California navigates his way through the world using sonar and his ears. Screenshot from YouTube

The boy who saw without eyes

A deaf student speaks to her teacher in sign language. Photo: shutterstock

The "sound" of sign language

Ormia ochracea female fly by Jpaur under CC 3.0 license

hear like a fly

Cosmic scene with DNA, stars, solvents and atomic circles in oral flow.

Voices from 350 thousand years ago