Sheffield Hearing Group

Happy #MicroscopyMonday everyone! 🔬Today’s image is from Alice. She injected this adult cochlea in vivo with an adeno-associated virus (AAV).🧬 We can see the AAV was able to transduce green fluorescent protein (GFP) into inner hair cells (brightly-labelled) and outer hair cells (dimly-labelled)🐀🧪

Goodrich Lab manager and RA is making great progress with cochlea cleareing and imaging, getting closer and closer to single fiber resolution! 🥳 Perfect for #FluorescenceFriday

JWST just released a new image of the red planet!
Just kidding, this is an image of the organ of Corti stained red that I've badly photoshopped 👩‍🚀 Have a great weekend all!

Happy #MicroscopyMonday everyone!🌟🔬 Today's photos from Nic show a cross section of the retinal layers in mice eyes.🐀👀 Here we can see (from the bottom), the photoreceptor layer, the middle layer (containing bipolar, horizontal, and amacrine cells), and the ganglion cell layer!🧪

Howdy, one of our PIs (Adam - me) was down in London earlier this week attending the @wellcometrust.bsky.social investigator meeting. It was great to see the breadth of what Wellcome fund and chat with other investigators (Primarily more senior). These are the only pics I got though as I was solo!

Today's #TraceTuesday comes from Nic, again! We have another trace from a retinal ganglion cell. 🦠 The small peak at the start is an artifact (Nic is still learning), but importantly, the big dip in the trace shows a large inward sodium current which is crucial for generating action potentials! 🧪📈

Happy #MicroscopyMonday everyone!🌟🔬 Today we have a video from Ginny showing the electromotility in an outer hair cell of a 19 day old mouse.🐀 This process is the primary function of outer hair cells and it is key for hearing quiet sounds!🧪👂

📖Howdy, today's paper spotlight comes from Xiayi Liao and was published this month. This (Exceptionally pretty) manuscript takes a detailed look at the addition of actin filaments to hair cell stereocilia; the tiny hairs that detect sounds within the inner ear!
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

Happy #MicroscopyMonday everyone!🔬 Today's image comes from Char!🌟 Here we can see a beautiful immunostaining of the mature spinal ganglion neurons from the apical region of the cochlea, where lower frequencies are detected, of a P25 mouse cochlea!🐀🧪

How the Brain "Talks Back" to the Ears | The University of Sheffield Player Discover how ears and brain communicate in hearing and why this research matters for hearing loss treatment.

We're excited to share that you can now watch Adam's recent @pintofscience.uk talk on demand via the University of Sheffield Player 🎥. Follow the link below to find out how the brain "talks back" to the ears! 🧠👂

🔗: player.sheffield.ac.uk/events/how-b...

#Pint25

Howdy! Today's paper spotlight comes from Chun Liang and was published in June. This paper shows that knocking out the ATP gated receptor P2X7 enhances hearing sensitivity but makes noise induced cochlea damage much worse! Adds info to those mysterious type II fibres 🔍 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Hey, thanks for the question! If you're meaning the shift in baseline after the big inward current, Sarah thinks this could be from ATP causing gap junction channels to close, which is what it seems like you're suggesting?

Happy #TraceTuesday! Today's trace comes from Sarah, which shows a supporting cell being treated with adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the body's currency for energy. The dip in current represents a large inward current of ions that is triggered by the ATP treatment! 🧪📈

The neuromast is part of the lateral line, an organ unique to fish and amphibians which is used to sense water displacement.

Happy #MicroscopyMonday everyone!🔬🧪Today's video comes from Charlie and it shows the neuromast of a zebrafish!🐟 The bright flash represents activation of the hair cells (in red) and the neurons (in green) following stimulation from a waterjet.

Get some earplugs – and never remove wax at home: 16 ways to protect your hearing, chosen by audiologists Turn the volume down, don’t use cotton buds and get your hearing tested before it’s too late. Here’s what experts recommend to keep your ears healthy

“The concern nowadays is recreational noise and young people listening to music on headphones.” + Earwax “has an enzyme which can kill bacteria and viruses going into the ear, and it moisturises the skin as well.” www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle... #earwax @theguardian.com #keeplistening

Happy #MicroscopyMonday everyone! 🔬🧪Today's image comes from Hermione, one of Sam's masters summer students and it shows the hair cells following noise exposure. In the image Myo7a labels the hair cells (blue), GluR2 labels the post synapses (green) and CtBP2 stains the pre-synapses (in magenta). 👨‍🔬🌟

Name & Role: Zoë Shaw | PhD student
Research: Gene-based replacement therapy for congenital hearing loss using AAV surgery, ABRs, DPOAEs, and confocal imaging.
Fun fact: She would have a coffee with Rosalind Franklin.

@zhshaw.bsky.social

This week we're introducing you to Yan and Zoë! ☺️

Name & Role: Yanyun Zhao | PhD student
Research: Spontaneous activity in the immature cochlea using in vivo two-photon imaging.
Favourite lab equipment: "The microwave in the kitchen! Nah, the two-photon microscope!”

A Complete Guide to Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids - Consumer Reports Consumer Reports shares advice to help you hear better now, highlighting information about the newer category of OTC hearing aids.

"Here’s what you can do to understand your own hearing loss better and figure out which type is better for you, plus how to shop smartly for hearing aids, whether you go the OTC or prescription route." From: www.consumerreports.org/health/heari... via @hearingtracker.com @consumerreports.org

Sheffield scientist awarded prestigious prize for groundbreaking MND research Dr Johnathan Cooper-Knock from the University of Sheffield is one of eight outstanding scientists nationwide to receive the 2025 Lister Award in recognition of his pioneering MND research.

We are thrilled to announce that leading neurologist and geneticist Dr Johnathan Cooper-Knock is one of just eight outstanding scientists nationwide to receive the 2025 Lister award from The Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine 🎉
www.sheffield.ac.uk/news/sheffie...

Big thank you to our collaborators here in Sheffield and at @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social ☺️

📝 We have a new paper out! Headed by Dr Federico Ceriani, this paper shows that machine-learning can be used to detect early signs of hearing loss, and can also predict the future progression of hearing loss in 6N and 6N-repaired mice! 🧪🦻

kwnsfk27.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F...

Everyone from the joint meeting stood together under some trees.

Another group shot 📸 from the joint meeting in Sussex!

@keeleuniversity.bsky.social
@kingscollegelondon.bsky.social
@swanseauni.bsky.social

people gathered around the tables of activities.

play-dough hair cells arranged in a spiral to represent the cochlea.

Lovely first day at #NeuroFest 🧠 in the Winter Gardens. It was hot out, but there was plenty of enthusiasm from kids and adults alike 😄. Come on down tomorrow 11am-4pm for some fun and interesting activities! 🧪🦠

Sheffield, Kings, Sussex, and Keele hearing groups all out for dinner together.

It’s a busy end of week for a lot of the team! On top of #NeuroFest, they’ve been down at University of Sussex for one of our biannual meetings with the hearing groups from Sussex, @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social, and @keeleuniversity.bsky.social. Big thank you to the team at Sussex for hosting 👏🏻

On today in the Sheffield Winter Gardens! 11am-4pm.

Very sorry about this, we will do in future.

Name & Role: Dr Sarah Hool | Postdoctoral Research Associate
Research: The role of purinergic receptors in the developing and aging mammalian cochlea using calcium imaging and immunostaining.
Go-to lab snack: Cadbury's Star Bar.

Say hi to Nic and Sarah! 👋

Name & Role: Nicole-Mae Blacknell | PhD student
Research: Understanding changes in retinal cells during development and ageing using electrophysiology and immunostaining.
Go-to lab snack: Banana.