Research found that the brains of deaf individuals redistribute neural resources to prioritize peripheral vision, enabling them to detect movement and events outside their central field of view. This adaptation allows deaf adults to excel at monitoring their surroundings, potentially providing an advantage in detecting danger.
Researchers found that lifelong deafness causes the brain to shift processing power, enhancing peripheral vision. This adaptability allows deaf individuals to detect motion and events outside their direct line of sight, providing a distinct advantage in monitoring surroundings for potential danger.
Uwe Wolfrum's research on Usher syndrome aims to prevent vision loss in patients with the disorder. His team uses human retinal organoids and pig models to investigate the molecular mechanisms of the disease, paving the way for gene-based therapies.
Research finds that textured walls can improve speech clarity for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals by controlling sound travel. The study developed a patterned wall design that can be tailored to different room shapes and sizes using 3D printing, offering personalized acoustic performance.
Machines with advanced AI capabilities are being developed to restore lost senses such as sight and sound, and even simulate touch and taste. This technology has the potential to revolutionize various fields like healthcare and education, but also raises serious concerns about privacy and manipulation.
Researchers found that a deaf person's brain can reorganize sensory systems through selective deactivation, not just increased activation. The auditory cortex in deaf individuals responds to visual stimuli with organized deactivations, representing visual spatial features.
Researchers have created genetically modified marmosets with a knocked-out OTOF gene, replicating key characteristics of human deafness. The animals developed normally but were deaf from birth, offering a crucial tool for developing new therapies.
The study reveals that higher language proficiency is associated with stronger functional connectivity within the brain network responsible for cognitive task performance. Deaf and hearing participants performed tasks similarly, but differences were observed in brain activity patterns.
Researchers are working on a £3.5 million UK-Japan project to develop human-centred artificial intelligence for sign language translation, focusing on natural conversational Deaf data rather than interpreted signing.
Researchers identified over 200 distinct mutations associated with congenital deafness, including new and family-specific variants. The study provides guidance on communication methods and supports regular ophthalmological follow-up.
A new AI model using deep transfer learning accurately predicted spoken language outcomes in deaf children after cochlear implants. The 'predict-to-prescribe' approach allows for earlier intensified therapy for children forecast to struggle with spoken language.
Deaf women in Scotland face significant barriers to accessing support and safety due to the lack of specialist services. The Sign LOUD report calls for a national BSL Equally Safe Advisory Group to improve response and dedicated long-term funding for Deaf-friendly domestic abuse services.
A new paradigm for language science emerges, highlighting the importance of multimodality, social interaction, and cultural evolution. The study reveals that language is not a fixed code, but a living, adaptive system shaped by its use in context.
Research finds infants with sensorineural hearing loss lack normal left-hemisphere language specialization. Early auditory stimulation and language exposure can help preserve brain development.
Delta.g appoints Ewen Stevenson as Chair of its Board, bringing experience in financial governance and strategic transformation to support the company's growth. The appointment follows a £4.6 million oversubscribed seed round led by Serendipity Capital.
Researchers developed a one-time gene editing treatment that restored hearing and balance in adult mice with DFNA41, a genetic form of progressive deafness. The therapy successfully disabled the harmful mutation while preserving the normal gene, leading to long-term hearing and balance restoration.
Gray wolf pups are born nearly helpless, but their mothers take risks to move them close to prey, such as elk, which is crucial for conservation efforts. The study's findings counter years of assumptions that migratory mammals can escape predation in spring due to immobile offspring.
The science community must rethink how it engages society in scientific discovery, controversy, and policy. A new 'collaboration model' is needed to create a level playing field for input, embrace uncertainty, and invite more public conversations.
A new study conducted at Karolinska Institutet reports that gene therapy improved hearing in all ten patients with congenital deafness or severe hearing impairment. The treatment was well-tolerated and showed remarkable results, with the majority of patients recovering some hearing after just one month.
A recent study found that 85% of commercially insured deaf children with cochlear implants use spoken language, compared to 33% of Medicaid-eligible children. Family language was not a significant factor in spoken language development.
A new study describes a promising new type of auditory brainstem implant that could benefit people who are deaf due to NF2 and other severe inner ear abnormalities. The soft, flexible implant bypasses damaged auditory structures and directly stimulates the brainstem's sound-processing region.
A study found significant communication barriers in NHS care for patients who are deaf or have hearing loss, with many missing half or more of crucial information. The research team recommends improvements, such as better access to British Sign Language interpreters and accessibility accommodations.
A new smartphone app uses visual equivalents to provide real-time feedback, enabling deaf users to practice and improve their pronunciation. The six-month trial showed promising improvements in speech development, with participants advancing from no vocalization to an average of 7 phonetic sounds.
Researchers at Florida Atlantic University developed an innovative real-time ASL interpretation system using AI and deep learning. The system achieved a 98.2% accuracy rate with minimal latency, enabling fast and reliable performance for applications such as live video processing and interactive technologies.
Researchers at Cornell University have developed an AI-powered ring that can track fingerspelling in American Sign Language (ASL) with high accuracy. The device, called SpellRing, uses micro-sonar technology to capture finger movements and predict ASL letters in real-time.
A Cambridge study highlights the need for India to recognize its own sign language, Indian Sign Language (ISL), as a constitutional right. The study also calls for increased investment in education and training programs for deaf and hard-of-hearing students, including more schools and higher education institutions.
SignGPT aims to create a sign language AI model that translates between signed and spoken language, benefiting the Deaf community with enhanced accessibility and inclusivity. The project will produce open-source toolkits, web-based demonstrations, and outreach programs to promote equal access to information.
A study by Harvard Medical School researchers found that high-frequency mechanical vibrations are routed from the body to the inferior colliculus in the midbrain, amplifying sensory experience. This convergence enables organisms to perceive and respond to subtle changes in their environment, critical for survival.
Researchers from Florida Atlantic University developed an AI system that accurately detects and tracks American Sign Language alphabet gestures using computer vision. The model achieved a detection process with high accuracy, recognizing complex hand gestures with an F1 score of 99% and mAP of 98%.
A new study reveals that children often begin with holistic learning, identifying whole phrases before breaking them down into parts. This approach challenges the traditional view that language is acquired by assembling smaller parts into larger structures.
A new systematic review of 70 studies reveals strong relationships between sign language competences and spoken and written language abilities. The findings suggest that English-only approaches may not be suitable for d/Deaf students, who benefit from nurturing their bilingualism through BSL.
A global research team, led by Indiana University's Linda Smith, will investigate how shape perception influences language acquisition in children with typical and atypical developmental trajectories. The project aims to develop a cross-disciplinary theory of the dynamic interaction between language and cognitive systems.
Researchers at UC Santa Barbara created deaf mosquitoes and found that males had no interest in mating, even when left with females for days. The absence of a single gene, trpVa, is responsible for this effect, which could have major implications for managing disease transmission by controlling mosquito populations.
Researchers propose that sign language classifiers are integrated into the grammar through pictorial representation, appearing in a comic book-like order. This visualization mechanism allows for greater flexibility and complexity in language, complementing standard words with iconic expressions.
A new paper in JCOM describes the development of an automatic translation app for sign language, designed through co-creation with deaf communities. The research team used a theatrical performance and AI tools to gather feedback from audiences, informing the app's design and features.
Researchers at MIT and Mass Eye and Ear have developed an implantable microphone that performs as well as commercial external hearing aid microphones. The tiny sensor measures miniscule movements on the underside of the ear drum using a biocompatible piezoelectric material, overcoming a major challenge in fully internal cochlear implants.
A novel gene therapy has restored hearing function in five children with DFNB9 who were treated in both ears, demonstrating additional benefits compared to a previous trial. The treatment also improved speech perception and sound localization abilities, including the ability to appreciate music.
A study by researchers at the University of Arizona found that veterans paired with service dogs for three months had significantly lower self-reported PTSD symptom severity, anxiety, depression, and feelings of isolation. They also experienced a 66% lower odds of receiving a PTSD diagnosis.
A new study has identified the likely origin of tone deafness in the brain, finding that strokes causing amusia affect the right hemisphere and a specific region called the superior temporal gyrus. This discovery highlights the differences between processing music and language in the brain, with implications for diagnosis and treatment.
A study published in Science Advances reveals that emotions are represented in the brain through a distributed network encompassing sensory, prefrontal, and temporal areas. The ventromedial prefrontal cortex emerges as a key locus for storing an abstract representation of emotions.
A new type of mechanical sensor, powered by sound waves, could monitor infrastructure and medical devices without battery replacement, reducing waste. The sensor can distinguish between different words and sounds, triggering processes or alarms.
The study reveals that race and ethnicity, as well as neighborhood disadvantage, are significantly associated with hearing-related quality of life in deaf or hard-of-hearing children. In older children over 13 years, neighborhood disadvantage has the broadest impact on their overall well-being.
Researchers at the University of Basel have discovered a key signaling pathway that influences auditory sensory cell function and is downregulated with age. Removing this pathway from mouse hair cells leads to rapid hearing loss, highlighting its importance.
New research published in Human Brain Mapping indicates that deafness does not affect the mechanisms and brain circuits supporting social skills. Deaf individuals show greater activation in regions involved in processing visual inputs like signs and lip reading.
Morphological awareness plays a crucial role in deaf children learning to read and expand their vocabulary. The study found that this knowledge is more important for deaf students than phonology or phonics, offering opportunities for them to actively construct words.
Researchers found that epigenetic silencing shuts off key genes required for sensory cell conversion. Enzyme TET can remove methyl groups to reverse gene silencing and restore hearing capability. Progenitor cells in deaf ears may already be primed to convert into sensory hearing cells.
Researchers developed a new method to deliver drugs into the inner ear, using the cerebrospinal fluid flow. This innovation restored hearing in deaf mice and may pave the way for gene therapy to treat human hearing loss.
A study published in PLOS Biology found that deaf mice develop normal auditory circuitry until the ear canal opens and hearing begins. This spontaneous activity is necessary for training the auditory system to respond correctly to sounds of different frequencies, potentially preparing it for cochlear prostheses.
Researchers found that deaf mice have nearly normal neural activity in the auditory system for two weeks after birth, suggesting a molecular mechanism for improved outcomes with early cochlear implants. This spontaneous activity helps train the brain to process sound before the ear canal opens.
Researchers found that temporary blindness caused by occluding one eye for two hours led to increased sensitivity to auditory input when the other eye was monitored. The brain's neural response to sound was selectively enhanced, indicating a high degree of plasticity and interdependence between senses.
A specialized weight loss program for Deaf people, designed and led by Deaf individuals, resulted in significant weight loss among participants. The Deaf Weight Wise program focused on lifestyle changes, social support, and cultural relevance, leading to a higher retention rate and better outcomes compared to mainstream programs.
Scientists design a mini gene therapy to replace the mutated gene in Usher 1F, increasing protein production and restoring hearing in mice. The approach may also prevent blindness by targeting a different form of the protein involved in vision loss.
Researchers analyzed DNA from Beethoven's hair to shed light on his chronic health problems, including progressive hearing loss. They found genetic risk factors for liver disease and evidence of a hepatitis B virus infection, which likely contributed to his death.
The study sheds light on Beethoven's health problems, including progressive hearing loss and chronic gastrointestinal complaints. Genetic risk factors for liver disease were identified, and evidence of a hepatitis B virus infection was found in the composer's final months.
Researchers found broad similarities in how deaf homesigners and hearing adults describe tool-related events, suggesting universal aspects of human thinking. The study suggests that these similarities reflect the extent to which a tool shapes the object it is being used on.
A University of Queensland study found that snakes can hear airborne sound and react to it, contrary to popular belief. The research used soundproof rooms and observed reactions from captive-bred snakes, revealing differences in responses based on genus and evolutionary pressures.
A new nonhuman primate model of Usher syndrome has been confirmed, providing hope for the development of a treatment for this leading cause of blindness-deafness. The model, created using CRISPR/Cas9 technology, exhibits symptoms similar to those experienced by humans with the condition.
A new study by Italian neuroscientists found that blind and deaf individuals' brains possess an innate functional architecture for integrating sensory information. This suggests that brain architecture can develop independently from sensory experience, adding weight to the 'nature versus nurture' debate.
Researchers found that the severity of an employee's hearing loss influences their reliance on professional connections, which affects career outcomes. Managers can offer tailored support to help employees build professional connections, such as providing accommodations and creating a culture of respect. This study suggests that even e...
A new study in deaf rats demonstrates that stimulating the locus coeruleus region of the brain can improve how quickly they learn to use their cochlear implants. The findings suggest that differences in neuroplasticity may contribute to variations in hearing improvements among implant recipients.