Study shows bald new truth

US researchers have grown genetically engineered hair in a lab, giving hope to burns victims and baldies.

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Research suggests a pioneering technique that generates new hair follicles could help to banish baldness.

The days of the wig, the toupee, the weave and even the dreaded comb-over could be numbered.

US scientists believe they've found a map pointing to the El Dorado of baldness.

They have grown hair from genetically engineered cells grown in a lab and inserted follicles into the foreskins of circumcised babies.

The team, from New York's Columbia University, tried to graft the fuzzy foreskins onto the back of lab mice and it worked.

They believe that further research could help people suffering hair loss, including burns victims, regrow their lost locks.

Hair grafts are already common, but they use hair already growing on other parts of a person's body to avoid rejection and are quite expensive.

"Although further work will be required to increase the efficiency of this process, this crucial first step represents a milestone advance for bioengineering of human hair," lead researcher Dr Clair Higgins wrote.

High profile figures to have undergone hair transplants include Elton John and English footballer Wayne Rooney.

The scientists grew human dermal papilla cells, which stimulate hair follicle growth, in the lab.

These were injected into the foreskins and then grafted onto the mice.

After six weeks, five of the seven test samples had hair follicles growing from the skin.

Dr Higgins said a similar process using rodent hair cells worked 40 years ago but it had taken to now to replicate it in humans.

Her team believe the research could also lead to new drug treatments for hair loss.

The research was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal on Tuesday.


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Source: AAP


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