ear

16 Stories

Gene Therapy Offers 'Astounding' Results in Deaf Kids

Small group of children in China see marked improvement in hearing after a gene mutation fix

(Newser) - A handful of children in China are experiencing sound for the first time, thanks to scientists who employed gene therapy to help alleviate their hereditary hearing issues. The Guardian reports on the "astounding" research, published Wednesday in Nature Medicine , in which doctors at Shanghai's Fudan University treated five...

He Thought He Had Water In His Ear. It Was a Roach
Man's 3-Day Ear Clog
Has a Most Unpleasant Source
in case you missed it

Man's 3-Day Ear Clog Has a Most Unpleasant Source

New Zealand's Zane Wedding had a cockroach in his ear

(Newser) - A New Zealand man who thought his ear was clogged with water for three days found out the actual, more unpleasant truth after visiting a specialist on Monday: A cockroach had burrowed its way into his ear canal. CNN reports that Zane Wedding had started feeling like his ear was...

Army Surgeons Grow New Ear in Soldier's Forearm

Doctors use cartilage from Pvt. Shamika Burrage's ribs to create new ear

(Newser) - An Army private who lost an ear in a car accident now has a new one, fashioned from her own rib cartilage. Surgeons this week announced that the new ear has been successfully reattached to Pvt. Shamika Burrage of Mississippi, according to an Army news release . What's more, the...

Man's Quest to Kill Roach in His Ear Has Unfortunate Result

A doctor ended up needing to pull it out

(Newser) - If you can bear it, we offer what Newsflare aptly describes as some "rather unpleasant footage" for your viewing displeasure—the type you won't want to see, can't help but see, and won't be able to unsee. It's video filmed last week that shows a...

Mystery of Woman Gifted Van Gogh's Ear Solved: Paper

Farmer's daughter bitten by rabid dog was ear recipient: newspaper

(Newser) - A recently uncovered pre-World War II sketch purports to show that Vincent van Gogh cut off most of his left ear, not just a small part of it. And while that fact is still being debated among historians, the name of the woman who supposedly was given that ear is...

Museum Displays Ear Grown From Van Gogh DNA

It's from the great-great-grandson of brother Theo

(Newser) - A German museum has put on display a copy of Vincent van Gogh's ear that was grown using genetic material provided by one of the 19th-century Dutch artist's living relatives. The Center for Art and Media in Karlsruhe said artist Diemut Strebe made the replica using living cells...

Jared Leto Fan Mail: Severed Human Ear

Someone either loves or hates 30 Seconds to Mars...

(Newser) - Jared Leto's fans show their passion in slightly horrific ways. The 30 Seconds to Mars frontman told XFM last week that in one case, "Someone cut their ear off ... and sent it to me, that was very strange. A whole ear. The Van Gogh move. The note just...

Game of Thrones Actor Gets Ear Bitten Off

Clive Mantle told men in hotel to keep quiet

(Newser) - So much for being civil: A British actor had his ear partly bitten off yesterday after asking people in a hotel to quiet down, the BBC reports. Clive Mantle, 55—who acted in the first season of Game of Thrones—was pinned down to the ground in a Travelodge and...

Ears: The New Fingerprints?
 Ears: The New 
 Fingerprints? 

Ears: The New Fingerprints?

Computer ear recognition eerily accurate

(Newser) - If you’re looking to identify someone, forget taking his fingerprints—try pointing a computer’s camera at his ear. A group of researchers have created an algorithm that can identify a person based on the shape of his ear with 99.6% accuracy, Wired reports. They think ear recognition...

Cops Catch Prisoner Who Cut Off Own Ear to Escape

Accomplices broke man out on way to hospital

(Newser) - British police today recaptured a man who'd cut off his own ear to escape from prison. The man, 29-year-old Michael O'Donnell of Greater Manchester, went Van Gogh on himself on May 2 while awaiting sentencing for his role in a car cloning crime ring. He was sent to the hospital,...

Guy Gets Chunk of Ear Bitten Off for Calling Woman Fat

The missing piece is still lurking around somewhere

(Newser) - Note to guys: You probably already know it’s not a great idea to call a woman fat, but you really shouldn’t call Anna Godfrey fat. The 21-year-old Nebraska woman allegedly tackled a man who called her exactly that at a birthday party, then bit off a chunk of...

FDA: Don't Stick Burning Candles In Your Ears

FDA issues alert, launches crackdown on ear candles

(Newser) - Putting a paraffin or beeswax-soaked tube in your ear and lighting it is a bad idea despite what the makers of ear candles may tell you, the FDA warns. The candles—sold as treatments for ear wax buildup, sinus problems, and headaches—can be hazardous and the FDA believes there...

New Theory on Van Gogh's Ear: Blame Brother Theo

Vincent was worried about losing his financial aid, says scholar

(Newser) - An art scholar says he's figured out why Vincent van Gogh cut off his ear—the unstable genius had just learned that his brother Theo got engaged, and he worried that he would lose his brother's financial and emotional support. Martin Bailey says the clue lies in a painting van...

Want to Bum a Smoke? Whisper in Their Right Ear

(Newser) - People prefer to listen with their right ears and are more giving when addressed from that side, LiveScience reports. An Italian study conducted in nightclubs shows that almost three-quarters of people observed listen with their right ear. Moreover, the researchers cadged significantly more cigarettes when they approached clubgoers on the...

Jamming to the iPod Is Making Us Deaf

A generation of adults will suffer hearing loss well ahead of its time

(Newser) - The popularity of iPods and similar devices may leave a generation of adults with impaired hearing decades ahead of their time, the Boston Globe reports. Sensory cells in the ear can only take so much bombardment, and frequent, pulsing music causes irreparable damage. New research also shows that boys often...

Ear Noise May Carry Innate Password

(Newser) - One day people may access bank accounts by picking up a phone and letting their ear do the talking, the New Scientist reports. Researchers in England are developing a new biometric technique that elicits the sound ear hairs create when ruffled by noise. If each person's "ear sound" ...

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