Researchers say they have located two proteins directly linked to the inner ear's ability to receive sound and send it to the brain. The breakthrough is another step toward the development of gene therapy for some types of deafness. The federally-funded research is focused on TMC1 and TMC2, inner ear proteins believed to be essential for hearing. The team that published the findings were led by scientists from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders at NIH and Harvard Medical School's Children's Hospital. Details are in the online issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation here.