For the bald, a ray of hope
The holy grail of science is, no, not the God Particle, but a cure for baldness. From time immemorial, men have tried everything to tackle this complaint, from rubbing exotic oils to practising head stands and, of course, hair weaving, a very painful option. Now, in yet another breakthrough, Yale University scientists claim to have worked out how to treat this problem. It’s too complicated to explain, but basically it’s a question of getting hair regenerative cells moving again so that they can sprout and cover the bald areas. It works in rodents, so they feel it will also eventually work for humans.
As disorders go, baldness would surely rank far below cancer or heart disease, or even pneumonia. But tell that to the poor man who suffers from Alopecia (hair loss) and slowly but inevitably sees himself going totally bald a few hairs at a time. Not only can it affect virility (remember Samson?), we know that hair loss can play havoc with one’s social life and image. Perfectly sensible people crumble at the thought of appearing in public with a shiny pate and invest in a hairpiece, even risking looking foolish.
So this new breakthrough should be good news, though no one is promising that a cure is around the corner. Scientists say this is just the first step. But for someone who suffers, any new straw is worth hanging on to.
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