Professor X from the X-men has been facing this problem for years! Is it Magneto? Is it Jean Grey’s Phoenix Force? Is it his disability? Nope. This problem has probably been haunting one of the greatest minds of all time. Even with their superb powers such as Iceman’s Freezing or Wolverine’s healing factor, no one was able to help Professor X. However, scientists have now successfully found the solution to his problem!
(Professor X from the live action movie of X-Men)
Yes, the problem we are talking about is his hair loss problem. Hair loss is not just a problem for the fictional character Professor X but it is a very real problem that many people actually face! People pay a lot of money to try to grow their hair back but until now, there really is not a very effective way to do so!
(Science has given us an even better way than traditional methods!)
Why do people even experience hair loss? Basically, as your hair continues to grow and grow, it will get thinner and shorter after many years. Eventually, your hair will get so thin and so short that you can hardly see it and it is not long enough to even grow out of your head! Your hair remains buried inside your head and this causes the condition known as “bald head”.
(But…but…I am not bald. Why am I called the Bald Eagle…*sad*)
Do animals go bald? Yes. The main reason why creatures go bald is due to the male hormones called Testosterone. This male hormone is responsible for the body changes to a male during puberty as well! So does that mean females will not likely to experience hair loss? Yes. It is much less likely for females to go bald. So good for you ladies!
Scientists are using stem cells to allow us to grow back our hair! What is a stem cell?
(NO! This is a stem! Stem cells have nothing to do with the stem of plants!)
Stem cells are cells that are capable of producing an infinite amount of cells of the same type. A type of stem cells called “Embryonic Stem Cells” are stem cells that are blank! They do not have a particular purpose yet and can become any kinds of cell! Think of it as having a blank piece of paper that you can draw anything you want on it!
(Yes, a clean slate that you can draw anything on!)
So what the scientists did is to transform the “Embryonic Stem Cell” into the cell that is responsible for creating human hair and starting the hair growth cycle! They have successfully grown hair on a mice that has no hair on its body!
If you have access to “Embryonic Stem Cells”, what kind of cells will you transform it into and what problems will you solve?
Sources:
http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/scientists-grow-hair-using-stem-cells
http://www.patient.co.uk/health/male-pattern-baldness
http://sciencenordic.com/why-do-men-grow-bald
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