Hopefully, understanding crocodile biology can benefit those who have hearing loss.
They may, nevertheless, be in non-mammal animals such as crocodiles, which preserve strong hearing throughout their lives in spite of living up to 70 years.
This image reveals the hair cell of a crocodile magnified around 5000 times. Lots of hairs (or cilia) task versus the porous membrane. Credit: Uppsala University.
It is known that animals can quickly regrow the hair cells in their ears if they are harmed. Crocodiles have outstanding hearing that is adapted for being on land and undersea.
The crocodile ear has actually been examined in a new research study by ear scientists at Uppsala University Hospital together with researchers at Uppsala University. Couple of research study groups worldwide have studied the inner ear of the crocodile, and the scientists in this research study have utilized electron microscopy and molecular technologies.
The image shows restoring hair cells (green) moving from the lower supporting cells as much as the sensory surface area. The sensory cells are of 2 types. Credit: Uppsala University.
One intriguing discovery was that little cell particles are produced in the crocodiles ear. The particles look like exosomes and can produce enzymes that break down or form the membrane against which the cilia in the ear rub as sound can be found in. The exosomes form little alveoli, cavities, that make it easier for the cilia to bend when sound vibrations reach the ear.
” One hypothesis is that this increases sensitivity to sound and hearing improves. Our hope is to learn how crocodiles regrow their hair cells and to eventually be able to use that on people in the future,” says Helge Rask-Andersen.
Reference: “Regeneration in the Auditory Organ in African and cuban Dwarf Crocodiles (Crocodylus rhombifer and Osteolaemus tetraspis) Can We Learn From the Crocodile How to Restore Our Hearing?” by Hao Li, Karin Staxäng, Monika Hodik, Karl-Gunnar Melkersson, Mathias Rask-Andersen and Helge Rask-Andersen, 4 July 2022, Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology.DOI: 10.3389/ fcell.2022.934571.
Hearing loss can reduce your opportunities, trigger social withdrawal, and lead to emotional problems..
A brand-new hypothesis about crocodile ears.
Over 1.2 billion people worldwide have hearing loss. Ideally, understanding crocodile biology can benefit those who have hearing loss.
Light tiny image showing the auditory organ in the crocodile. The wedge-like structure includes thousands of sensory cells with hair-like processes projecting into a permeable membrane to which they are rubbed against.
” We can see that new hair cells seem to be formed from the activation of so-called assistance cells, which is linked to crocodiles having particular cell structures that human beings appear to absence. Our hypothesis is that nerves that bring impulses from the brain, so-called efferent nerves, trigger that regrowth,” states Helge Rask-Andersen, teacher of experimental otology at Uppsala University and one of the scientists behind the study, which was recently published in the journal Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology.
More than a billion individuals worldwide have hearing loss, which triggers substantial troubles for individuals and typically lowers the viewed lifestyle. The most typical cause of hearing loss is the failure of receptors in the ears, and these receptors can not be restored in people. They may, however, be in non-mammal creatures such as crocodiles, which preserve strong hearing throughout their lives regardless of living up to 70 years.
Crocodiles have outstanding hearing that is adapted for being on land and underwater. The image shows restoring hair cells (green) moving from the lower supporting cells up to the sensory surface area. One intriguing discovery was that little cell particles are secreted in the crocodiles ear.
