August 21, 2012 | David

I’m not known for my tuneful singing, but professional singers need to hit big notes every night. If they damage their vocal cords, their career could be over.

That’s why scientists are about to test a new treatment using a gel which mimics vocal cords. The gel is very flexible, allowing it to flutter as fast as human vocal cords during speech.

It isn’t a permanent solution, but it could help many people around the world who suffer from damaged vocal cords.