[Home]   [Full version]  

Hair restoration techniques improve

Apr 18 ,General Science


U.S. experts say men losing their hair can rejoice that better techniques for restoring their hair are in the horizon.

The desperation remedies of dog urine and snake oil are long gone, having been replaced by transplants techniques. But even these techniques will soon make way for higher-tech remedies, reports The Los Angeles Times.

Modern methods mostly just save hair that already exists or move the individual hairs around on the scalp but researchers are looking to the day when they can remove a few hairs, multiply them in a lab and fill in a bald spot.

Others are working on creams that can stop and start hair growth whenever and wherever they like.

"I think, ultimately, we will find a way to take a single follicle and clone it, to re-create it in a petri dish -- and that solves all of our problems," Dr. Claire Haycox, a professor of medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle told the newspaper.

Copyright 2006 by United Press International

Related stories:

What lies beneath: Growth of root cells remarkably dynamic, study finds
Heart cells beat together as the heart pumps. Single-celled amoebae pulsate as they move. But pulsing plant cells? That's precisely what certain plant cells do as they grow, says a study publishing online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Nanotechnology confronts the 'bad hair day,' tests new conditioner
Ohio State University researchers have just completed the first comprehensive study of human hair on the nanometer level.
Micro honeycomb materials enable new physics in aircraft sound reduction
Noise from commercial and military jet aircraft causes environmental problems for communities near airports, obliging airplanes to follow often complex noise-abatement procedures on takeoff and landing. It can also make aircraft interiors excessively loud.
Study suggests air quality regulations miss key pollutants
(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder reveals that air quality regulations may not effectively target a large source of fine, organic particle pollutants that contribute to hazy skies and poor air quality over the Los Angeles region.
Neurons in zebrafish may reveal clues to the wiring of the human ear
(PhysOrg.com) -- Developing neurons tend to play the field, making more connections than they will ever need. Then, the weakest are cut. But Rockefeller University scientists now show that neurons in young zebrafish — vertebrates, like humans — behave differently: They immediately find a cluster of specialized cells and make the right match. The findings may help reveal the mechanism by which analogous cells are wired in the human ear, and eventually help those who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Disposable 'lab-on-a-chip' may save costs and lives
(PhysOrg.com) -- Low-cost, disposable cartridges that would let doctors perform diagnostic tests at the point-of-care could speed up diagnosis and treatment while lowering costs. European researchers are rapidly closing in on that goal.
Slicing solar power costs: New method cuts waste in making most efficient solar cells
University of Utah engineers devised a new way to slice thin wafers of the chemical element germanium for use in the most efficient type of solar power cells. They say the new method should lower the cost of such cells by reducing the waste and breakage of the brittle semiconductor.
New nano device detects immune system cell signaling
Scientists have detected previously unnoticed chemical signals that individual cells in the immune system use to communicate with each other over short distances.

News discussion:

General Science news

[Home]   [Full version]