Splitting Hairs

While auditory hair cells in our ears sway around in sound, wafting like arms in soft jazz, or violently back and forth like a headbanger’s rock horns, vestibular hair cells help us to find balance. Each movement helps to send information about speed, acceleration and gravity to the brain. Examining bundles of mice vestibular hair cells (highlighted here in green under a high-powered microscope), researchers find one cell in each bunch, the kinocilium (pink), behaves differently. Kinocillia contain some genes similar to motile hair cells – which generate their own force. Although the presence of force-generating cells among cells sensitive to movement is surprising – kinocilia with similar genes are found in many species, including humans. Researchers wonder if their presence helps to 'prime' our ears, keeping us alert and balanced in the outside world.

Written by John Ankers

John Ankers

Writer

A former researcher in systems biology, John is now an online biology tutor and professional coach supporting the wellbeing of scientists and NHS professionals. He's writing, too, of course.

Website

• Image from work by Zhanhong Xu and Amirrasoul Tavakoli, and colleagues
• Department of Biomedical Sciences, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, USA
• Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
• Published in eLife, April 2026