New Research Pins Baldness To a Single Chemical (independent.co.uk) 71
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Independent: A single chemical could be responsible for whether people go bald or not, a new study has found. In the UK, approximately two thirds of men will face male pattern baldness. The study says the discovery of the chemical could "not only treat baldness, but ultimately speed wound healing." In the study published in the Biophysical Journal, study co-author Qixuan Wang said: "In science fiction when characters heal quickly from injuries, the idea is that stem cells allowed it. In real life, our new research gets us closer to understanding stem cell behavior, so that we can control it and promote wound healing."
The team looked at hair follicles as these are the only human organ that regenerates regularly and automatically, and discovered that a type of protein called TGF-beta controls how the stem cells in hair follicles divide and why some can die off. Wang explained: "TGF-beta has two opposite roles. It helps activate some hair follicle cells to produce new life, and later, it helps orchestrate apoptosis, the process of cell death. Even when a hair follicle kills itself, it never kills its stem cell reservoir. When the surviving stem cells receive the signal to regenerate, they divide, make new cell and develop into a new follicle." However, the scientists found that when a hair follicle dies, the stem cell reservoir still remains. "When the surviving stem cells receive the signal to regenerate, they divide, make new cells and develop into a new follicle," Wang said. The study authors added that it may be possible to stimulate hair growth by activating follicle stem cells, but more research on the subject needs to be done.
The team looked at hair follicles as these are the only human organ that regenerates regularly and automatically, and discovered that a type of protein called TGF-beta controls how the stem cells in hair follicles divide and why some can die off. Wang explained: "TGF-beta has two opposite roles. It helps activate some hair follicle cells to produce new life, and later, it helps orchestrate apoptosis, the process of cell death. Even when a hair follicle kills itself, it never kills its stem cell reservoir. When the surviving stem cells receive the signal to regenerate, they divide, make new cell and develop into a new follicle." However, the scientists found that when a hair follicle dies, the stem cell reservoir still remains. "When the surviving stem cells receive the signal to regenerate, they divide, make new cells and develop into a new follicle," Wang said. The study authors added that it may be possible to stimulate hair growth by activating follicle stem cells, but more research on the subject needs to be done.
The kind of finding (Score:5, Funny)
That will grow hair on your chest.
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And everywhere else...
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And everywhere else...
From Better Off Ted [wikipedia.org], "Father, Can You Hair Me?" [fandom.com] (S1:E11):
The hair growth spray works a little too well. [youtube.com]
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That's one place where I don't need more hair!
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Mom!
Is that you?
republicans (Score:1)
suddenly all about stem cell research knowing it can now regrow hair
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What baby corpse? Last I checked it was done from aborted fetuses, and it's very un-capitalist to let some resource go to waste that you can use to make money of.
When did Republicans become pinko commies?
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Aborted fetuses are what? Non-living matter? Almost every baby aborted after month 5 and many before would have lived if not murdered by a "doctor" even if they didn't go full term. Medical science is a wonderful thing, eh?
When you kill something and it's a person, that's murder. Unless you are claiming abortion is self defense. I'd love to see -that- argument.
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Aborted fetuses are aborted fetuses. I don't call an omelet a chicken either.
You can only murder something that is alife. And alife is something that can exist without the aid of another organism. Something that is dependent on another organism for its survival is a symbionte or a parasite. And for the symbionte classification, I fail to see the benefit for the woman.
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Well yes, Republicans are anti-science so it's understandable they wouldn't want research into help saving people's lives or make people's lives better. As we've seen over the past two years, Republicans want people to die and be miserable. The more the better.
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If you people are going to be pro-science now, why are you still insisting that the Thirty Meter Telescope would be "colonialist?"
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Pretty sure he didn't mean to say that, he's not nearly as ignorant as you. Good thing you're not pushing any "narrative crap" though!
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Truth hurts, eh? You want a bandage for that wound?
Conservatives were never against stem cell research, which anyone should know if they're not narrative drinking fools.
They have always been against stem cell research using cell lines from dead babies.
Fact. Easily looked up. But don't let fact get in the way of your narrative.
It goes both ways (Score:5, Interesting)
If you can turn hair follicles on, you can turn them off. I imagine having a jar of each type of cream would become mandatory in every bathroom medicine cabinet.
Imagine, a perfect shave until you decide you want to try a goatee or something.
Re:It goes both ways "can turn them off" (Score:3)
Re:It goes both ways "can turn them off" (Score:5, Funny)
Tell her you're legally obligated to conform to your Slashdot username.
Before I ever grew a beard (and wasn't sure I even could), my wife told me she hated beards. Then when I went to do some really remote fieldwork (decades ago), I decided I wanted to try - and she said "okay I want to see it but then I want you to shave it off". But when I came back with it, she told me she wanted me to keep it - and now, when I do shave, she asks me when I'll be growing my beard back.
Maybe the bottom line is... she doesn't like my face?
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If you can turn hair follicles on, you can turn them off. I imagine having a jar of each type of cream would become mandatory in every bathroom medicine cabinet.
Imagine, a perfect shave until you decide you want to try a goatee or something.
Yes. Of course. That is exactly what I was thinking. Use it to sculpt one's facial hair.
*furiously crosses out what they had written down*
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"If you can turn hair follicles on, you can turn them off. "
But not through the same mechanism. It's not a light switch.
Does It Work On Nose Hair? (Score:3)
I would like to have some extra long ones I can braid.
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Rapunzel Rapunzel, let down your.....nevermind.
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It would also be interesting to have more hair on ears. Those braids would look nice, too. d= ;) Possibilities are endless. :P
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O yea, I could braid my ear hair into my nose hair for the win!
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ROFL! :)
Babies? (Score:2)
Before we are born, at some point, our body is covered with hair. Can we make hairy babies like a little chimpanzee?
Just to clarify... (Score:3)
The summary is contradictory. Do they make new cell or make new cells?
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Yup, Slashdot is badly edited. What a shock.
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I wonder if the poster read the post before posting. Having said that I suppose it's "make new cells" because it makes sense, but one of these sentences is too much. The way I see it, what it should have looked like is only "When the surviving stem cells receive the signal to regenerate, they divide, make new cells and develop into a new follicle," Especially having "however" in front is confusing.
I works on /. articles also.... (Score:2)
Here we have an ordinary post:
Wang explained: "TGF-beta has two opposite roles .... When the surviving stem cells receive the signal to regenerate, they divide, make new cell and develop into a new follicle."
Now, at this point, the text follicle has died. But if we apply a little TGF-beta:
"When the surviving stem cells receive the signal to regenerate, they divide, make new cells and develop into a new follicle," Wang said.
See? iThe quote is good as new.
Works for entire postings as well. Just give them a
Apoptosis -- programmed cell death (Score:2)
I believe it's generally extremely important that cells respect signaling pathways that lead to apoptosis. Those that don't are often forms of cancer.
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Didn't make it through the summary, then? Nobody's looking at preventing the death of the follicle, but rather how to get the stem cells to create a new one.
That said, the apoptosis is triggered by exposure to a form of testosterone. Which also happens elsewhere in the body, not just follicles. There are probably a lot of age-related conditions that could be treated by understanding more about this. But I don't understand a lot about it - since these are all age related things where testosterone levels
Re: Apoptosis -- programmed cell death (Score:2)
I was always led to believe the hair follicle is not dead just in a state senescence, it is asleep. The hair before that get thinner and thinner until it is just a tiny hair.
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So how's the progress on inventing the better beer?
Re:Vanity thy name is man. (Score:4, Insightful)
IT hates age, so many try to disguise their age for work. That's a practical reason.
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Did you miss the part where they think this research can apply to healing wounds faster?
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Human mating rituals are vital for the continuation of the species. It's like saying that male Cardinals growing red feathers is a waste of resources an energy.
Evolution mystery (Score:1)
Male baldness is a relatively recent development evolution-wise. It seems there is/was strong selection pressure for it for unknown reasons. One hypothesis is that it reduced flea problems for older males, as living in populated areas spread a lot of flea-born illness, and as you get older, your immune system declines.
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But male-pattern-baldness came on (or off) relatively quickly.
Mice without dates? (Score:1)
Where do they get bald mice to test?
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Where do they get bald mice to test?
From this company [criver.com]
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How much for a few hundred mice?
Asking for my pythons.
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Check with Mar-a-Lago.
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They may not be bald for the same reason as human men. Baldness cure testing is not one of the listed uses.
Wrong priorities (Score:2)
Everybody has injuries during their life. From small scrapes and bruises to serious injuries.
Speeding recovery, and possible aiding in revalidation would be the biggest discovery of the decade.
As a side effect of something to decrease boldness.
And it is described as 'to treat boldness'. Srsly? Treat? Since when is this is a disease? Why should be even want to treat it?
Somebody got his or her
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How other people spend their money is none of your concern.
Au contraire mon frere. As the Supreme Court recently said, you have no right to privacy and a woman has no control over her body, so yes, it is my business how other people spend their money.
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Have you been following this thread? He changed the topic from how we spend money on vs it's to spending money on criminal activity such as the right to murder babies. I played along.
Damn, people here are dumb.
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I know I shouldn't bash on your spelling, I like to think that it was intentional.
But I thought this was a remedy for lack of boldness, i e going bald might make some men shy.
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To boldly go where no one has gone before, even if you are a bald captain.
Incorrect, authors need to stay up to date (Score:3, Informative)
Microcompetition with Foreign DNA and the Origin of Chronic Disease. August 2003. ISBN: 0-9740463-0-2 Authors: Hanan Polansky
The cause of many of the chronic diseases such as cancer, atherosclerosis, obesity, diabetes, osteoarthritis, multiple sclerosis, is unknown. Therefore, current medications, if available, treat symptoms rather than cause. Under such conditions, recovery and prevention are unattainable. Recently, Dr. Hanan Polansky discovered that the cause of these diseases is an infection with a latent, or "dormant" virus. The current paradigm holds that viral proteins are the only creators of the viral effect on host cell, in other words "no viral protein, no effect." A latent virus either does not produce viral proteins, or produces a limited number of proteins. Following such paradigm, scientists assume that a latent infection is harmless. Dr. Polansky discovered a direct effect of viral DNA on cellular gene expression. As it turns out, this effect modifies gene expression, which alters cell function. Over an extended period, the abnormal cell function manifests itself as the symptoms associated with many chronic diseases. This effect underlies the Microcompetition Model, first described in this book. The significance of the Microcompetition Model cannot be overstated. From a health perspective, the discovery of the cause of these chronic diseases opens the door to discovery of medications, that for the first time in history treat the cause of the disease rather than symptoms, and therefore, for patients offer complete recovery, and for the public, protection against the disease.
https://www.researchgate.net/p... [researchgate.net]
The GABPp300 transcription complex normally suppresses both5reductase and AR expression. Therefore, microcompetition between these genes and a latent virus, which also binds the complex, reduces the suppression and causes overexpression of 5re-ductase and AR The excess 5reductase increases the conversion oftestosterone into DHT, which binds to excess AR, culminating in the development of MPB.
https://www.researchgate.net/p... [researchgate.net]
Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-B) physiologically induces Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) lytic infection
https://journals.asm.org/doi/1... [asm.org]
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Up to date, you say? With a 20-year-old citation from a non-peer-reviewed book by the kind of guy who refers to himself in the third person in an attempt to confer on his argument an unearned semblance of authority?
Kindly fuck all the way off, fringer ...
(Posting anonymously only so as not to undo prior upmods in this thread.)
--
Check out my novel [amazon.com] ...
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Age doesn't matter. General Relativity is over a hundred years old. "Microcompetition with Foreign DNA and the Origin of Chronic Disease" is the General Relativity of the medical community, its age is irrelevant.
There is a rather bizarre angry tone of your post. I'm merely trying to help readers further their knowledge. From where does your anger stem from? Is this just towards me, in some sort of obsessive way, or do you go around like that all the time to everyone?
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Anonymous or not, your mods do not persist after you post.
So it sounds like you're hiding your identity. What are you scared of? Your post history of embarrassment?
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"Kindly fuck all the way off, fringer ..."
How far back is your hairline? Your anger shows you're quite infected with latent viruses. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.go... [nih.gov]
hair follicles the only human organ that regen? (Score:1)
And stomach lining cells, no?
As always, about 20 years too late (Score:2)
Why is it that scientific breakthroughs like this always seem about 20 years too late? (Ironically, some technological breakthroughs are always about five years away) I could have used this back in my care-free bachelor days. Now I'm just in my old-fart bachelor days.
never volunteer (Score:2)
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I hear you brother, as an sympathic werewolf myself (I become a werewolf in the presence of other werewolves), it is a tough life.
Hair is over rated (Score:2)
You want to make the world a better place? Breed hairless women...
Intra-dupe (Score:2)