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Social enterprises strive to not only raise money, but to also make a change in the communities and the people's lives they serve.

With tax season looming, CWRU research associate Amar Desai bugs his wife Deval, a CPA, with some questions.

Last May, Fresh Water published a story on Jerry Mearini and the Rock Hard Guitar Picks he developed, combining his love of rock and roll with his physics knowledge. Our media partner WKYC Channel 3 picked up the story.

Whether the mild winter continues or Jack Frost breathes chilly air over us and lays a snowy blanket beneath us, the Cleveland Metroparks offers a host of activities for people of all ages and abilities throughout the winter months.
 

A lot has happened this year in Cleveland. From new businesses to innovative ideas,  Fresh Water looks back at the top 10 stories of 2015.

The Reinberger Gallery kicks off its visiting artist series with internationally acclaimed sculptor Chakaia Booker's Take the Highway exhibit.

Inmates from the Lorain Correctional Institution and CWRU students come together in a course aimed at tackling racism, oppression and the implication of mass incarceration.

Everyday items like head phones, ear buds, even loud music through speakers can damage our hearing. Hair cells and hair bundles in the inner ear receive audio information and transmit it to the brain. When those hair bundles are damaged, hearing loss can occur.
 
“The hair cells are used to convert sounds to electrical impulses that go the brain,” explains Brian McDermott, associate professor of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at CWRU School of Medicine. “When sound comes into the ear, the hair bundles, or stereocilia, move back and forth. Loud noises can kill the bundle.”
 
 But now researchers at Case the have discovered that the movement of protein within hair cells of the inner ear shows signs of a repair and renewal mechanism. That recognition means that researchers may be able to find a way to reduce or repair hearing loss, says McDermott. “We hope it gives insight into the important hair cell.”
 
McDermott and his team are using zebrafish – a transparent fish found in India's Ganges River – to study and better understand the workings of the human ear. “We use zebrafish in our research to study ears because the fish are optically clear,” explains McDermott.  “Their hair cells are similar to human hair cells.”
 
McDermott learned a lot about the human ear from studying the fish. “For a number of years people thought that the hair bundle was a static structure and really didn’t change much over time,” he says. “We showed the hair bundle proteins actually move quite fast. We were shocked. We were surprised to see that movement.””
 
The discovery gave the researchers hope that there may be a way to cure hearing loss. “The reason that movement is important is it implies that there is a renewal process going on,” says McDermott. “Proteins are exchanging, which might be a repair process.”
 
The next step is to determine how the hair bundle may repair itself with the protein movement. McDermott and his team will continue to study the process fully in the transparent zebrafish ear. “There are no drugs right now that actually cure hearing loss,” says McDermott. “It’s very much a possibility that when we understand the process, that movement may heal hearing loss.”


The research was published in the Nov. 17 edition of Cell Reports. 

Bike Cleveland has teamed up with the Cuyahoga County Department of Sustainability to secure 250 bikes for a bike sharing program in time for the Republican National Convention next July. The move is part of a larger countywide initiative.
 
"Over five years we need 700 bikes in 70 stations," explains Mike Foley, executive director of Cuyahoga County's Department of Sustainability.
 
In order to get started on that tall order, last month the team identified CycleHop-SoBi as the preferred vendor for the new bike share system. Negotiations are ongoing, although Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) awarded the county $357,000 in federal funding to bring the plan to fruition. With 20 percent in matching funds, the group has $446,000 available to purchase the bikes.
 
"The federal government requires us to own these things at least for their usable life," explains Foley, "which is deemed five years." The program in its entirety will cost more, he adds, and will depend on a private-public partnership that relies on business and other private sponsors adopting stations and systems. Downtown will be the initial focus area for the first wave of bike stations.
 
The CycleHop-SoBi brand is a collaboration of two entities.
 
"CycleHop operates the system,"explains Foley. "SoBi manufactures the bikes," which he describes as sturdy and equipped with GPS systems. "Heaven forbid a bike is stolen or not returned," he says, "they'll be able to find it. It also helps figure out routes. They call it a smart bike. We were impressed with technology."
 
The bikes can also be locked anywhere.
 
"You don't have to go to a SoBi bike station," says Foley. "You can lock it up at regular bike stop and go get your coffee."
 
The versatility doesn't stop there. Although still tentative, Foley sees the program having flexible membership options, with yearly, monthly and weekly fee structures available, as well as an hourly rental system for one-time users.
 
As the program expands to reach that 700 number, Foley sees it reaching across the county.
 
"There are suburban communities that I know are interested in this. Cleveland Heights is chomping at the bit to be part of it," he says, adding that Lakewood has also expressed interest.
 
"We want this to be larger than just the city of Cleveland."