A geneticist at Tel Aviv University discovered a defective gene that causes progressive hearing loss. Karen Avraham led an international team of researchers who found that a defect in DFNA15 caused moderate to severe deafness by age 40 in one large Israeli family. The findings may lead the use of genetic manipulation to correct hearing loss. The DFNA15 gene regulates the function of many other genes, so the ability to isolate and correct that gene could affect the function of other genes that control hearing.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.