INTERESTING ENGINEERING - Northwestern scientists have discovered a new method for helping aging hair regrow in mice.
The method relies on hair follicle stem cells getting stiff as they age, making it harder for them to grow hair. But if the hair follicle’s stem cells are softened, they are more likely to produce hair.
Northwestern scientists conceived a way to soften those stem cells to enable them to grow hair again. This is according to a press release by the institution.
In July 2022, a team of scientists at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) zeroed in on the single chemical key to hair growth and fall. This chemical is the transforming growth factor (TGF) beta, a small protein that works outside the cells and is involved in cell signaling. TGF-beta is the sole chemical involved in both the activation of cell division inside the hair follicles and bringing it to an end.