Slashdot Mirror
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."
Could they grow hair on my elbows using this technique? It would be nice and comfortable whilst leaning against my desk.
I bet you went bald in your teens right bro?
"Imagine if we applied this effort to shit that bothers me. The fact that some men are almost unable to date doesn't bother ME, so fuck you."
Gtfo with your high horse. A fix for baldness will prevent tons of suffering.
Sad thing is, I knew some jackass would get on his high horse the moment that something like this hit slashdot.
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").
He's also a client. --dept
On the other hand, skin and hair are relatively easy to experiment on, making it a fairly reasonable first step, assuming that at least some of the techniques involved can be applied to other areas of regenerative research, such as organ regeneration, dermal regeneration for burn victims, etc.
Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.
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.
For some combination of mortality-anxiety and the desire to get laid, people are obsessed with any measures that can keep aging indicators at bay and restore a youthful appearance. Only a fairly small subset of male aesthetics actually look suitably young with a shaved head.
I hate to break it to you, but plenty of bald men date without any particular difficulty. Buzz cuts work wonders.
Being poor or socially awkward is a much bigger inhibitor to dating than baldness.
Some of us happen to have godawful ugly heads and those around them can be blissfully grateful for whatever cover the hair upon it can afford, whether this hair is natural or not.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
Some of us happen to have godawful ugly heads and those around them can be blissfully grateful for whatever cover the hair upon it can afford, whether this hair is natural or not.
Have you thought of decals, caps, or racing stripes?
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
I shaved my head down once, and it looked *terrible*, especially compared to when I just kept my hair long. Not everyone has a nice clean shiny skull to show off. Some of us have scars, discolorations/birthmarks, that can be nicely covered up with a full (or even partial) head of hair. Add to that various things that are more likely to show up with a shaved head and too much sun (such as said discolorations, or even melanoma) and there are plenty of reasons to keep ones hair beyond simple vanity.
Protip: I have been bald since my early 20s. Never had a problem talking to women. Or any of these nonexistant things that are listed. If you lack the confidence to be outgoing and approach people thats on you, dont blame it on baldness.
I agree with you. Completely.
For the rest of you:
What a bunch of pussies. Shave your head with a cheapass Atra cartridge on a Headblade every other day, get outside to get rid of the initial blinding whiteness via a slight tan (if you're a white guy) and suck it up. I'm early 40s, have been shaving my head for eight years, and get more Tang than a fucking astronaut. I'm just like a lot of you guys, MBTI INTJ, IQ third standard deviation to the right, geek for a living, etc. (Note: introverted.. extremely... but *not* shy).
Seriously, do that, then get your lame ass over to SimpleFit and do what this guy did and quit fucking whining. If that's too hard get a GymBoss and a ten dollar jump rope. Ten to twenty minutes of interval jump roping can fuck your shit up something proper. One variable you can control is the shape you're in.
And to those of you who are whining about not getting laid.. if you're under 30 with a horribly shaped cranium, I *might* say 'okay.. sorry about your luck, do what you can'. Over 30, the rules change. After shaving that noggin, you can (as previously stated) either do SimpleFit or some other physical activity (if I were a betting man, I'd bet the majority of you bitching have quite a bit askew aside from your follicle situation), dress a bit better, and.. I'm not making this up.. improve your posture. Chin up, chest out a bit (mainly by pulling those shoulders back, not physically sticking your chest out like a bird) and don't stare at the goddamned ground all the time. I'm no looker, but confidence will get you a looooong way, and the ones that count and are over 30 generally see through the shallow stuff (you did know that in most marriages that 'make it', partners are normally within 1/2 standard deviation of IQ of each other, right? And no, I don't have the cite handy). Short version: have something worthwhile to say.
I'm sorry if it's harsh, but so many of you live in your head and sit back while things happen, and I used to be like you. You can take corrective action at times. I grew up without much, joined the military, and went from full-on Iron Maiden mullet introvert 6502 jockey cracking Atari 800 software to completely dehumanized in the military (that first head shaving and cold shower along with an assload of med techs injecting you with inoculations while standing there cold and naked works wonders for the self esteem), to a professional software engineer with a career. It puts things in perspective; I worry about cancer, getting shot, whether or not some asshole on Wall Street is going to tank my investments, etc.. my hair (or lack thereof) is way down on the list.
And if somebody puts you down, always, always consider the source. At least once weekly I find myself thinking "metadata analysis indicates you're a fucking moron.. finished yet? I need to get more coffee?"
Guy at the water cooler: What's up, chrome dome?
Me: How original, that the best you got, Algernon? How's life on the tail end.. *snicker*
Rant over.. sometime during my hitch in the military I converted from totally introverted programmer to a Klingon. It's worked out for me at least. Even nowadays in Counterstrike or Team Fortress I never defend; I'm all about the invasion. I've worked with far too many of you that take shit you don't need to take, and attribute it to a red herring.
No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. - Eleanor Roosevelt
The foreskin has the most sensitive parts of the penis.
You probably mean that the glans has most sensitive parts of the penis. Which, of course, is protected by the foreskin, that helps to maintain the sensitivity of the mucous membrane.
To fine touch, the foreskin is the most sensitive.
look up:
"Fine touch receptors in the human penis" Sorrels et al
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.
lol that's not his point. His point is, he DOES have baldness, but it doesn't stop him from talking to women. So if you have trouble with talking to women, it's because of a different reason than baldness.
And his point is right.
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."