There’s hope for you yet, my bald kings and queens
Scientists have made a huge step forward in combatting a huge cause of anxiety among men, especially, as it looks as though researchers may have found a cure for baldness.
Thanks to a joint study carried out by the University of California’s Riverside department of mathematics and biology, a new insight into stem cells in relation to hair follicles looks to have illuminated a path to prevent people from going bald entirely.
Detailed in a recent medical article published in the Biophysical Journal entitled, “A probabilistic Boolean model on hair follicle cell fate regulation by TGF-β [beta]”, lead author Dr. Qixuan Wang explains how hair cells are essentially designed to do three things, develop, divide and die.
Now, we’re not even going to pretend to understand the hard science of how this works but basically, as the paper explains, a protein designated TGF-beta causes mitosis – the process of cells growing and duplicating – and apoptosis (cell death).
Moreover, while hair follicles regenerate naturally and too much of this chemical protein causes hair and skin cells to die, Wang and co-author Katherine Dinh believe that since we know stem cells can help organs like livers repair wounds, figuring out exactly how TGF-β works and communicates with other genes could activate follicle stem cells and curb receding scalps.
The mathematical biologist states that since the “stem cell reservoir” survives even when follicles die, her team’s work could not only combat people losing their hair but also “offer something to help people suffering from a variety of problems.”
As it happens, this isn’t even the first time experts have hinted that they are closing to fixing the follicle problem this year, as back in May a pharmaceutical company conducted a study which saw four in 10 patients recover alopecia within six months after taking a new, experimental twice-a-day pill.
Until the breakthrough is fully made, all you can do is rock your shiny domes and make look after your mates who might be conscious about losing their hair – after all calling men bald can technically classed a “sexual harassment” nowadays.
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