As mammals, we have very sensitive hearing, thanks to a process known as cochlear amplification. This amplification is down to sensory cells in the inner ear called outer hair cells (OHCs), and it is thought to depend on the way a protein called prestin—found in the OHC membrane—responds to changes in electric potential. However, the membrane structure of prestin is unknown, so a team including a researcher from Kanazawa University has used force spectroscopy to determine it. Their findings are published in the Journal of Biomechanical Science and Engineering.
Click here for original story, The membrane structure of inner ear protein prestin is revealed
Source: Phys.org