Scientists identify the cause of baldness
American scientists say that they’ve discovered why some men go bald. They blame faulty cells which seem to produce hair that is so thin that it is invisible to the naked eye. They expect to find a cure for baldness.
Reporter:
Mark Lobel
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For some men, bald is beautiful.
The iconic look may work for a few – especially celebrities – like the rugged Die Hard star Bruce Willis and Star Trek’s Patrick Stewart.
For many though hair loss is no laughing matter. But now researchers in America say they’ve uncovered a cure.
An academic medical centre has found that hair follicles actually shrink, but don’t disappear.Dr George Cotsarelis, dermatology professor at Pennsylvania University, found the discovery hair-raising.
“What we found surprised us. The stem cells were present but they were not doing their job.”
The discovery of invisible hair sounds too good to be true. But what does it mean?
“It really gives us hope that because the stem cells are present it lowers the bar for developing treatments that could activate the stem cells and get them to form a new hair follicle,” said Dr Cotsarelis.
Treating these faulty stem cells means that, rather than just maintaining hair, we could soon regenerate hair.
Mark Lobel, BBC News
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rugged
de apariencia fuerte
no laughing matter
algo serio, de lo cual uno no debe reirse
uncovered
descubierto
cure
cura
hair follicles
folículos de pelo
hair-raising
increíble, “de poner los pelos de punta”!
stem cells
células madre
too good to be true
demasiado bueno para ser verdad
lowers the bar
que baja los estándares para que sea mas fácil, que queda mas fácil
regenerate
regenerar
Fuente: BBC Mundo