Berkeley Lab researchers say that they have made a significant advance towards understanding exactly how hearing works. The researchers claim that they have for the first time pieced together the three-dimensional structure of a gossamer-like filament of proteins in the inner ear, which enables the sense of hearing and balance. They say that their work may lead to improved treatments for some forms of hearing loss, which affect about 10 per cent of people. The filaments help transform the mechanical vibrations of sound into electrical signals that can be interpreted by the brain, say the researchers. In their study report, they have revealed that such filaments are only four nanometres wide, and 160 nanometres long. The world becomes silent when enough of them break, the report adds.  Full Story