Hearing Repaired: Gene therapy restores guinea pigs’ hearing

By flipping on a gene that’s normally active only during embryonic development, researchers have restored hearing to a group of profoundly deaf guinea pigs. The finding may lead to treatments for millions of people with acquired hearing loss, the team says.

NOW HEAR THIS. Guinea pigs like this one regrew auditory hair cells (inset) and regained their hearing after being deafened by drugs.