This story is on the far side, but perhaps most interesting because of that.  Researchers at Sweden’s renowned Karolinska Institute have used a purified polysaccharide (chitosan) from shrimp shells to make nanoparticles that can convey nucleic acids across membranes to the hair cells of the inner ear.  The nanoparticles are positively charged and the nucleic acids are negatively charged, which explains how they bond.  They then move across membranes and insert themselves in gaps between cells, allowing absorption. So far, the research has been done in guinea pigs, but the results are encouraging for human trials where this novel gene therapy delivery might eventually replace implants and hearing aids.   MORE