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Scientists Induce New Hair Growth In Balding Men
sciencehabit writes "Scientists have successfully grown new hair follicles from the skin cells of balding men. While the research team (abstract) hasn't yet shown whether the structures, which produce strands of hair on our bodies, are fully functional and usable for transplants onto a scalp, experts say the discovery is a significant step toward finding new treatments for hair loss. Previous attempts used standard two-dimensional cell culturing techniques, but the new works grows the follicles in suspended droplets, better replicating the 3-D environment of the body. Using one's own cells to generate new follicles is useful because hair color and thickness will match perfectly with the rest of someone's head of hairs. And with the new technique, clinicians would be able to take just a few dermal papilla cells from a balding patient and expand the number of hair follicles available for transplant, rather than only be able to move follicles around."
Sad that they are taking parts of unconsenting minor's bodies to do this.
The foreskin has the most sensitive parts of the penis.
Or you could you know, just shave your goddamn head. Never understood why some people have such a want to get their hair back. Even tho transplants seem alot better than other solutions such as sprays and wigs, which will literally fall off or melt off your head in certain conditions, why waste the money. I have never understood this fascination.
Imagine what we could do if we applied the same level of effort to problems that mattered...
that is was only on the inside of their palms! fapfapfap
Could they grow hair on my elbows using this technique? It would be nice and comfortable whilst leaning against my desk.
Using one's own cells to generate new follicles is useful because hair color and thickness will match perfectly with the rest of someone's head of hairs.
Assuming that you take samples from the same area, I'd guess. After all, a good number of people have very different hair color and thickness at different parts of the body, like men with dark hair and reddish beards. Do we actually know what controls that?
If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").
Just make sure you don't replicate pube follicles by accident.
He's also a client. --dept
I find the spray does not last long but the hair club for men is a rip off.
Get cracking on this. It's a gold mine!
---- The above post was generated by the Turing Institute. Maybe.
Imagine his ass with a huge afro. You think he'd use this treatment?
...here I come. I want to finally be a man. With a full and shiny coat of body hair, I'll finally be taken seriously at the board meetings, on the court, and possibly in the bedroom.
Dear FDA: Please get this to trial and continue disregarding cancer and HIV treatments.
stem cell research huh? Here's a cheaper solution: coffee and black pudding (or haggis).
Hair doesn't get women.. MONEY gets women.
You know... Money... Like what you wasted a fuckload of trying to keep your hair...
Fabio and I are relieved! We've been pulling our hair out worrying over this..
Seriously, are we not past this, I got to have hair to be a man thing yet? I guess in today's plastic surgery, photo shop and fake tan world this is par for the course. Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. Folks, generally you are as attractive as you THINK you are (with some notable exceptions who have egos which are too big). Personally I prefer the company of folks who take care of themselves but are not preoccupied with appearance. Be comfortable with who you are, you will be happier in the long run.
(That goes for you ladies too..)
"File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
And looks damn good with a bald head, I say: bring it on! The only way I will ever have hair again... is if I can have a JESUS-MANE of hair! Damn straight! I'll grow that out down to my shoulders! Hell yeah!!! Go long, or go bald--No in-betweens!!!!
Here's to hot beer, cold women, and Glaswegian kisses for all.
NASA's mission was to go to the moon, but along the way they they discovered scratch resistant lenses and memory foam. I have both in my house right now.
The point is a discovery is something new and beautiful, no matter what the reasons for looking were. I can easily imagine some offshoot of this technology fixing some other skin condition like shingles or eczema.
As for the "this helps people's suffering" vs "quit whining and just shave your head" argument, I started balding at 14. I'm happy with my shaved head now, but at the time it started it felt like motherfucking Armageddon. Suddenly girls were a terribly important concern and I looked like a radiation accident. I wouldn't wish that kind of social suffering on anyone. Especially an awkward 14 year old fer chrissakes. It was miserable.
That being said, I greatly enjoy my shaved head now and if this treatment were to become available I wouldn't take it. Being hairless (once you're the right age anyways) is actually rather nice. You look just fine in the morning, rain doesn't bother me because I have no hair to mess up, and driving with my windows down feels wonderful in the summer.
Weaselmancer
rediculous.
Wake me when they've managed to grow chest hair.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
"but sadly the greatest minds and resources where focused on conquering hair loss and prolonging erections."
Troll is not a replacement for I disagree.
Is there any reason why this wouldn't work on balding women?
just sayin....
The good news is it grows hair. The bad news is you now have pubic hair on your head.
You are welcome on my lawn.
when I see it!
I started going visibly bald in my early 20s. . (the actual process started in my teens). . . At first I was freaking out, to the point of lying awake at night fretting.
I went through the normal stages of acceptance. Got physically very fit (something I *could* control), and cut it progressively shorter, eventually going to the shaved head. It turned out to be no big deal at all - no problem with jobs, starting business, dating, getting laid, getting married, settling down.
Now in my late 30s, I decided - who needs the damn buzz cut? Everyone says "to accept being bald you have to shave it". . . well fuck that!!! I'm growing the damn shit long. So now it hangs down the sides and back like a renaissance man. And it looks fucking awesome. I am giving Gandalf a run for his money.
Stop judging people based on hair.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
I've spent the last few decades cultivating a natural reverse Mohawk.
Have gnu, will travel.
Where the hell did all the hostility come from in this thread? I'm sure going bald and being bald affects people in vastly different ways, just as it affects other people's reaction and interaction with them. This could possibly be a great discovery for something that negatively impacts a great deal of people, mostly guys...but a few women as well. Alternatively, a great deal of people, both those affected and those interacting with those affected, could give a shit less...which is great. That doesn't mean this wouldn't be almost a damn miracle to some guys or gals; it also would be a fantastic achievement in and of itself that probably would be a starting point for other achievements. And, as was blatantly said before, this would generate veritable mountains of cash for some industries, when is that not reason enough for something to strive for...usually that's the only damn reason. So, everyone with all the "advice" to the people who think that this would be great for them and about how they should "get over it" and man up or whatever shit they're peddling about how much action they get: Fuck off and shut up. I'm not bald (yet) but I can tell you if my head looks as bad as I think it would without hair I'd probably be all over this like Persis Khambatta on Voyager 6. Or something.
They have not grown any new hair on balding men. The closest they've come is to grow human hair on human skin stuck on a mouse.
Are we mice or men?
If hair loss is a disease, what else is? Are my brown hair and eyes a disease? I know some people prefer blondes, and if I lived in Sweden I'd have a disease, right?
Big noses? How big before it's a disease? What about big feet? Small feet? Man boobs. Totally a disease, right? Or are they a symptom? Maybe hair loss is a symptom too. Chemo and radiation patients lose their hair, but chemo is a treatment. Sometimes radiation is a treatment. Sometimes it's an injury. Hair loss. Maybe it's an injury if you cut it. Yeah. Bad haircut. I can get workman's comp for that right?
What if I wanted more hair, like, EVERYWHERE? Can I have it done in time for my Chewbacca costume this Halloween?
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
Try going gray in your early 20s. It's almost as bad. I bought my first box of dye before I was old enough to legally buy vodka or beer.
I wish to god someone would make a dye for men that doesn't suck. Men DO have different coloring needs for women. Our hair is shorter and sparser, so skin stains show up easily, and the gray roots show up within a day. An ideal dye for men would be one that gets applied in two parts:
Part 1: a mordant like isatin + p-aminophenol that forms a robust, deep color within the hair follicle, but doesn't stain skin, doesn't build up, and seems to react directly with the sulfur in the hair to form the color. It's an amazing chemical, but unfortunately, it's a one-trick pony, and the color it forms directly is pretty nasty. Hence, the need for Part 2.
Part 2: a dye with zero affinity for keratin (unfortunately, both hair AND skin are chemically similar) that quickly bonds to the mordant formed by part 1.
Clairol tripped over the formula for part 1 about 20 years ago, but didn't do jack shit with it because they couldn't figure out how to turn it into a general-purpose dye suitable for women. Other companies (mostly Japanese and German) have been working on Part 2 for years, but they're still hung up on "it doesn't really do anything of value for women that existing products don't do."
I think guys would KILL for a dye that works dependably, without stains, buildup, or visible roots, and can be used daily (if necessary) to eliminate new white roots as they grow in, even if it meant spending an hour. The problem with current dye products isn't the time they take... it's the fact that they stain skin like a mofo, and do a shit job of covering new white growth on hair that's been previously-dyed.
Please, someone read this and make it happen. I've personally played with the formula in part 1. It works, it's just not suitable as a final color and needs some as-yet undiscovered part 2 dye to nudge it in the right direction for cool dark blond to medium brown. Even if we had to apply part 1 before bed, and part 2 in the morning, it would be a huge improvement over what we have now.
Reference: http://patents.justia.com/patent/4921503
This is not a cure, this is just a temporary "patch" that does not address the reason for going bald in the first place: the buildup of DHT in the scalp that kills hair follicles.
Imagine his ass with a huge afro.
Did you think about that before hitting "Submit"?
Have you thought of decals, caps, or racing stripes?
Of how about a black porkpie hat, dark sunglasses, a goatee, and an oxford shirt and khaki slacks.
Hair keeps your head warm.
Hair keeps your head cool and from being sunburned.
Hair allows some slippage when your head hits something, bare skin grips and tears. My bald head gets cut FAR more often and far more severely than when I had hair.
Hair prevents your head from sticking to smooth surfaces like leather chair backs or headrests in cars.
Hair can make a difference in attractiveness and perceived virility
Hair makes a difference in perception of age.
Basically, anyone who does not have the choice of whether to have a head of hair or or shave it, they care. A lot. Shaving does not resolve many of the issues.
...and everyone uses it. I'd love to be the last bald man in the world. A rare breed.
Seriously, what the hell? It's not a disease. It make convertibles more comfortable. It costs a drop of sunscreen or a hat.
I guess some people will cry over anything.
... not the actual verified cause. And that is why most of the "solutions" that try to control DHT fail miserably.
Did the OP even read the linked article? Still, "Scientists Induce New Hair Growth In Balding Men" did get it onto /.'s homepage. A much-used strategy.
O lord, bless this thy holy hand grenade, that with it thou mayest blow thine enemies to tiny bits, in thy mercy.
I question how honest someone is being to themselves when they say that they are going bald or are bald and yet state it has not affected them. I've been bald for since the 90's. Do I worry about being bald? No. Am I aware I am bald? Every day.
I have no guilt about money being spent on 'unbalding' research. We're not talking about cosmetic surgery or injections, but instead returning something that has been lost to me.
To all the people, bald or hairy, that think going bald is no big deal. If the world was a fair place then yes, having no hair would not matter, and neither would other superficial things, but we don't reside in some fairy-tale realm. Unfortunately we have to deal with the real world and deal with real people that judge you on you appearance which includes height, body weight, the clothes you wear, swagger, body decorations like tattoos an piercings, and of course YOUR HAIR!
Baldness adds years to your age. I'm not talking about shaved heads. I mean being bald and still letting your hair grow at the back and sides. 5-10 year easily gets added on.
Thankfully shaved-heads have been an acceptable style for the past 20 years. Unfortunately not everyone can shave their head and still look good. Many men have Charlie Brown heads.
As much as women say they find bald men sexy, those women are few and far between, and the bald men they are attracted to are usually 'larger than life' men like movie stars. In the real world the majority of women consider balding men unattractive.
Everyone knows that baldness is very emotionally debilitating, but it also affects you physically.
-You're colder in the winter because of the lack of hair thus less insulation. Sometimes I even have to wear a hat or toque indoors. I find hats uncomfortable. Debilitating no, but it is annoying.
-the sun quickly cooks your cranium in the summer because there's no hair to insulate you from the sun's rays. Wear a hat you say? Well hat's make it worse if you shave your head because the hat forms an air-tight seal with your shaven head, preventing any air circulation underneath your hat. It's either shade or a bandanna or put up with the sun beaming down on the cranium for us baldies.
-Hair acts as a cushion your head when you bang your head on something. Hair also has sensory functionality and warns you when something is about to touch it. When you have a chrome-dome, that sensory function is gone. Don't believe me? Hold your hand out and slowly move it towards your head and you hair will pick up and feel your hand while it is still inches away.
-Hair hides stuff on your head. I have numerous acne scars on the back of my head that make me feel uncomfortable if others see. A coworker recently had a tumor removed from her brain. They went in through the upper back of her skull. Her scar is not visible because she has thick long flowing hair which hides the scar. That scar would be visible from thirty feet away on my shaved head.
Those above items will seem trivial to many, but they are things I have to be conscious of and work around at times. You don't realize what a full head of hair does for you until it's gone.
If there were to be a cure for baldness Captain Picard would have used it. Therefore it is impossible.
Yes, the human hair cells are being tested on mice. That's the usual way to test these procedures before moving on to humans.
However, the title is really misleading, because the females will benefit more from this, because they got less hair to be moved from different bodyparts to the head and baldiness in women is socially less accepted than in males.
ooh that looks like an unbiased url. If you weren't an AC it would almost look trustworthy.
Medical evidence belongs on reputable peer reviewed sites, not on advocacy sites funded by hate mongerers. Track the sites origin to its roots.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
I mean, seriously you guys, learn to prioritize!
Watch this Heartland Institute video
To the commenters who mock the idea (in fact it is just one application of pretty interesting science):
Sirs, I believe the ones who should grow up is you. Why, for heaven's sake, should not men have the option for regrowing their hair if they choose to? Or get their hair painted rainbow, if they wish? Just because you don't like it? What about that pesky thing that some people say is the basis of America and whole euro-atlantic culture... ah yes, FREEDOM?
We already have countries that have their citizens nicely aligned in their looks. One style of hair (or lack thereof), one style of clothing, everything normalized. A no-frills, frugal lifestyle. Nobody trying to look younger or different, nor even fighting their age. They know their place, their time and task. Very economical, very well organized. And the same applies to science, of course. They don't waste their time researching nonsense like restorative medicine or life extensions. They focus on things that really matter: nuclear and chemical weapons. One of good examples is North Korea. Visit advised. Behold - that's how it should be done!
Good point re female baldness. that is very much seen as tragic and pitiable as opposed to "that's what happens"
Patrick Stewart, Bruce Willis and all the other bald or shaved head actors - Thank you.
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interesting to see that only men bald but not women. women don't have receding hairlines. anyways, i remember the old commercials about hair crowing products and transplants.
When I was young, living in my Father's house, I had to keep my hair cut above my collar. These were the Moe years. When I went to University, I let it all grow out. These were my "long haired hippy" years, and they were great. Once I started working, I began to thin on top, eventually entering the Larry region of hairstyles. I decided that since you can't go back to Moe (without expensive treatments or surgeries), I would take the plunge and shave it all off, entering the Curly club. People usually take about 12 or more years off how old they think I am, and most don't believe me when I tell them, I've been hit on by women almost young enough to be my daughter. No, I don't have money, power, or use jedi mind tricks. I joined forces with Curly, who apparently has more mojo than Austin Powers.
I agree with all, and would add:
Depending on when you experience hair loss, it can have larger impact. Most of the women that like the Jean Luc Picard look are looking at a man already in his 50's. That is great they think a bald man in his 50's is attractive.
When you loose your hair in your 20's, when as it happens most people meet their significant other and get married, and you look 10 years older than you are, well sucks, but nothing you can do about it.