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Article: Hearing gene; sounding out the heredity of deafness. (HuP2, Waardenburg's syndrome research) (Cover Story)
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- May 2, 1992
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1992 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Nineteenth-century naturalist Charles Darwin was probably not the first person to observe that many blue-eyed cats are also born deaf, although he might have been the first to record the observation. Over the years, farmers and city folk alike have noticed that some blue-eyed, all-white cats are poor mousers and tend to get mauled in fights -- good tip-offs that they can hear neither prey nor predator. Generations of pet owners have also noted that these cats usually startle easily and never learn to respond to their names.
Geneticists studying the inherited causes of deafness have now uncovered an explanation for why blue eyes and white hair go hand in hand ...