Uniquely among human senses, hearing is not simply a passive response to stimulation.
Our auditory system is instead enhanced by an active process in cochlear hair cells that …

Mechanotransduction, the transformation of mechanical force into an electrical signal, allows
living organisms to hear, register movement and gravity, detect touch, and sense changes in …

One of the major challenges in modern biology is to understand how the molecular
components of a living cell operate in a highly noisy environment. What are the specific …

Sound pressure fluctuations striking the ear are conveyed to the cochlea, where they vibrate
the basilar membrane on which sit hair cells, the mechanoreceptors of the inner ear …

Cochlear hair cells respond with phenomenal speed and sensitivity to sound vibrations that
cause submicron deflections of their hair bundle. Outer hair cells are not only detectors, but …

Much is known about the mechanotransducer (MT) channels mediating transduction in hair
cells of the vertrbrate inner ear. With the use of isolated preparations, it is experimentally …

Malaria mosquitoes acoustically detect their mating partners within large swarms that form
transiently at dusk. Indeed, male malaria mosquitoes preferably respond to female flight …

The inner ear's performance is greatly enhanced by an active process defined by four
features: amplification, frequency selectivity, compressive nonlinearity, and spontaneous …

Cells are active materials; they can change shape using internal energy to build contractile
networks of actin filaments and myosin motors. Contractility of the actomyosin cortex is tightly …

Mechanical amplification of acoustic signals is apparently a common feature of vertebrate
auditory organs. In non-mammalian vertebrates amplification is produced by stereociliary …