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Deafness 'Cure' is a Goal for Science
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0:01 - 0:09[Voice of America jingle]
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0:09 - 0:12[concrete music produced by the objects shown]
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0:12 - 0:17[Peter Fedynsky] This clashing and crashing percussion music is the work of Jay Alan Zimmerman,
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0:17 - 0:23a New York composer with significant hearing loss who has been dubbed "Broadway's Beethoven."
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0:23 - 0:28The piece, entitled "Roboticus," is about a man who upgrades his natural body
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0:28 - 0:31with artificial parts to become a robot.
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0:31 - 0:36[Jay Alan Zimmermann] Yes, that's the situation I am facing: Do I get a cochlear implant and become a bionic man?
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0:36 - 0:41If it gave me better than normal hearing, I would grab it,
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0:41 - 0:43[sings vocals: Woo-eeee]
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0:43 - 0:45Zimmerman has no diagnosis for the condition
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0:45 - 0:49that turned his world into a muddle of sound more than 10 years ago.
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0:50 - 0:57He supplements that muddle through lip reading. He also relies on light as a complement to his music.
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0:57 - 0:59Zimmerman says his hearing problem may involve damage
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0:59 - 1:03to the minute sensors in the ear known as hair cells
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1:03 - 1:06that transmit audio signals to the brain.
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1:06 - 1:07[music]
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1:07 - 1:11Though the electronic device known as a cochlear implant improves hearing,
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1:11 - 1:16it does not allow for appreciation of music or all of the richness of sound.
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1:16 - 1:21Zimmerman prefers to wait for scientists to find a way of regenerating hair cells.
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1:22 - 1:26Researchers gained a valuable insight from an unexpected source.
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1:26 - 1:27[Hens cackling]
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1:27 - 1:32Dr. Mark Warchol of the Washington University School of Medicine explains
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1:32 - 1:34what chickens have brought to hearing research.
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1:35 - 1:42[Mark Warchol] The avian inner ear has this remarkable ability to regenerate sensory receptors after injury,
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1:42 - 1:48So, Deafening a bird, for example, turns out to be a very temporary thing.
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1:48 - 1:56Within several weeks, all of the dead sensory cells, damaged sensory cells, will be replaced by new cells.
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1:56 - 2:02[Peter Fedynsky] Unlike chickens, humans cannot replace sensory cells lost to aging, toxicity or loud noise.
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2:02 - 2:07Researchers at this week's Hearing Restoration Project summit at the New York Academy of Medicine
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2:08 - 2:10noted the human body does have the capacity
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2:10 - 2:15to restore skin cells, cells in the digestive tract and in a damaged liver.
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2:15 - 2:20Dr. Andrew Groves of the Baylor School of Medicine says scientists are trying
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2:20 - 2:24to apply that capacity to more complicated sensory cells.
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2:24 - 2:29[Andrew Groves] You can break the problem down into two simple processes,
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2:29 - 2:36One isthat, if you want to repair something, you have to make more cells; the cells have to divide.
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2:36 - 2:46So understanding what tells a cell to start dividing and then to stop at the appropriate time is really important.
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2:46 - 2:50[Peter Fedynsky] But researchers say that "simple" problem may take 10 years to solve
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2:50 - 2:53and tens of millions of dollars to fund the effort.
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2:53 - 2:55[music]
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2:55 - 3:01At this point, Jay Alan Zimmerman is declining surgical treatment while he waits for a cure.
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3:01 - 3:04In the meantime, he says he will continue writing musicals
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3:04 - 3:07and performing his own compositions for theater.
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3:07 - 3:10Peter Fedynsky, VOANews, New York
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3:10 - 3:12[Music. continuo: "maybe - maybe not" with off voice: "Can you help?"]
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3:12 -(Captions based on the transcript provided by VOA in the web version of this video)
Claude Almansi commented on English subtitles for Deafness 'Cure' is a Goal for Science | ||
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Claude Almansi edited English subtitles for Deafness 'Cure' is a Goal for Science | ||
Claude Almansi added a translation |