Edgar Summers Posted September 7, 2006 Share Posted September 7, 2006 http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/08/07/eveningnews/main1872163.shtml I was looking at this earlier. Check it out. For all of us ex-rockers, metalheads, current loudness junkies, and headphone victims there might be a cure in our future for our excesses! "Music should never be harmless." Robbie Robertson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Horne Posted September 7, 2006 Share Posted September 7, 2006 Here's the article: (CBS) In a dusty, cluttered lab at Stanford University, a team of young scientists is on a quest. Curing deafness is the goal, reports CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Kaledin, and Stefan Heller says stem cells hold the key. Heller and his entire team were recruited away from Harvard, and they've made a breakthrough discovery: They've found that stem cells have the capacity to regenerate in the inner ear. The stem cells are especially good at growing into the microscopic hair cells that make hearing possible. "It's like a little microphone in your ear," Heller says of the hair cells, "and when the microphones go bad, then you don't hear anymore. We can grow these tiny microphones from these stem cells." Heller and his colleagues have figured out how to inject stem cells into the ears of mouse embryos and watch them grow. Their next step is to try it in live mice. "I hope that in five years, we are at a point that we can say that it is possible to cure deafness, at least in an animal," Heller says. "That will be the first step toward treating human patients." There are an estimated 28 million Americans who are deaf or hard of hearing. Many of them get by with hearing aids and surgically implanted cochlear implants. But Heller and his team believe that stem cells have the potential to eliminate even the best technology we have. "So what you're saying is if we can restore something to its natural state, why not?" asks Kaledin. "Why not," responds Heller. "Exactly." ©MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. No guitarists were harmed during the making of this message. In general, harmonic complexity is inversely proportional to the ratio between chording and non-chording instruments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozymandias Posted September 7, 2006 Share Posted September 7, 2006 Whatever the solution is, it's not in the near future. Even if they've struck gold it'll still take a decade or two of testing before it's commercially available, and then another 5-10 years before it's affordable (eye laser surgery, anyone?). So it might be viable when I'm in my 50s, and when my kids are in their 20s. Anyway, considering that we can't even transplant hair on heads successfully most of the time, I'd have to assume results would be even poorer with ears. So it might alleviate the symptoms, but not cure them. The best strategy is, as always, prevention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffLearman Posted September 7, 2006 Share Posted September 7, 2006 The next trick is developing the "off" switch. What they have currently would keep on tickin'. Imagine. But I'm hoping! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edgar Summers Posted September 7, 2006 Author Share Posted September 7, 2006 Whatever the solution is, it's not in the near future I don't think it'll take 20 years-more like 10. My expectation of scientific progress and/or innovation is that many advances will accelerate perhaps surprising us all when they arrive. Of couse I was thinking recently that many of the men who walked on the Moon more than 30 years ago may be gone before someone else gets back there. Like someone said-" I thought we'd have flying cars and homes on the Moon by now"! "Music should never be harmless." Robbie Robertson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bridog6996 Posted September 8, 2006 Share Posted September 8, 2006 Originally posted by Edgar Summers: Whatever the solution is, it's not in the near future I don't think it'll take 20 years-more like 10. My expectation of scientific progress and/or innovation is that many advances will accelerate perhaps surprising us all when they arrive. Of couse I was thinking recently that many of the men who walked on the Moon more than 30 years ago may be gone before someone else gets back there. Like someone said-" I thought we'd have flying cars and homes on the Moon by now"! That has more to do with the fact that NASA has little interest in the moon at this point. It would really be a waste of money because there's nothing about the moon that's a mystery anymore. NASA's eyes and wallet are pointed at locations farther out in our solar system and beyond. The next major shuttle mission will be to Mars. My YouTube Channel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz+ Posted September 8, 2006 Share Posted September 8, 2006 My doctor, who knows the research, says it's more like 50+ years away before it's readily available for humans. Harry was the Technical Editor of Mark Levine's "The Jazz Theory Book" and helped develop "The Jazz Piano Book." Find 800 of Harry's solo piano arrangements and tutorials at https://www.patreon.com/HarryLikas These arrangements are for teaching solo piano chording using Harry's 2+2 harmony method. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzwee Posted September 8, 2006 Share Posted September 8, 2006 Just remember though that the idea which is the basis of Lasik (cutting the cornea), was discovered by accident. So not everything is predictable time wise. We may just get lucky. I don't even need so much to regrow the inner ear hairs as I just want to get rid of tinnitus. We can always amplify the sound mechanically. Hamburg Steinway O, Crumar Mojo, Nord Electro 4 HP 73, EV ZXA1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Horne Posted September 8, 2006 Share Posted September 8, 2006 Originally posted by Jazz+: My doctor, who knows the research, says it's more like 50+ years away before it's readily available for humans. Wonderful, by that time I will have been dead for 20 years. No guitarists were harmed during the making of this message. In general, harmonic complexity is inversely proportional to the ratio between chording and non-chording instruments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bridog6996 Posted September 8, 2006 Share Posted September 8, 2006 Originally posted by Dave Horne: Originally posted by Jazz+: My doctor, who knows the research, says it's more like 50+ years away before it's readily available for humans. Wonderful, by that time I will have been dead for 20 years. Hopefully by then, they'll have a cure for death too! Just make sure to have your head frozen like Walt Disney. My YouTube Channel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marino Posted September 8, 2006 Share Posted September 8, 2006 Originally posted by Bridog6996: there's nothing about the moon that's a mystery anymore. Oh yeah, there is. They are just deciding if it can turn itself in short-term profitable investment. NASA's eyes and wallet are pointed at locations farther out in our solar system and beyond. The next major shuttle mission will be to Mars. Um, presently it seems there are a lot more problems about traveling to Mars than they had previewed; first of all, there's no easy way to keep the very strong radiations from killing the astronauts. (Btw I'm no expert - I just finished reading a book about this stuff.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delirium Posted September 10, 2006 Share Posted September 10, 2006 Originally posted by Dave Horne: Originally posted by Jazz+: My doctor, who knows the research, says it's more like 50+ years away before it's readily available for humans. Wonderful, by that time I will have been dead for 20 years. Dave, don't be so pesimistic... . playing music makes you younger. the faster you play, the younger you are... ♫♫♫ motif XS6, RD700GX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steadyb Posted September 10, 2006 Share Posted September 10, 2006 eh???...what'd you guys say??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DafDuc Posted September 11, 2006 Share Posted September 11, 2006 Hmm - since my left-ear deafness is nerve damage, sounds like I'll be waiting a while longer. So I should be able to use everyone's broken headphones for AT LEAST 10-20 more years. I played in an 8 piece horn band. We would often get bored. So...three words: "Tower of Polka." - Calumet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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