Accidental Find May Lead to a Cure For Baldness

http://singularityhub.com/2011/04/02/accidental-find-may-lead-to-a-cure-for-baldness-2/

by ubasu • 15 years ago

53 54 15 years ago

TheSwede75• 15 years ago

I can't help but not care about this. Sure it's a fun finding, but WHY is baldness considered something that is so badly in need of a 'cure'?

Of course I do understand it from a purely capitalistic viewpoint in that a 'cure' would no doubt be worth a ton of money but seriously. What's so bad about baldness?

Sometimes you really piss me off Humanity!

monochromatic• 15 years ago

1. Scientists tend to be men.

2. Men like to have sex with younger women.

3. Young women tend to not like men who look old.

So yeah, baldness research is going to happen.

Udo9• 15 years ago

Being bald is a huge stigma. Simply put (if overly generalized): most women find bald men very unappealing. I started losing my hair in my mid-twenties, and incidentally this was the last time when a woman was interested in me. Of course, some people can compensate for this, but apparently I can't. I probably shouldn't write this publicly, but I had some success going to parties with a wig. Really! So yeah, baldness needs a cure.

It's debatable whether it's an illness, however there are some findings that suggest the underlying condition not only affects follicle cells but also prostate tissue, leading to a higher chance of developing cancer. But even if there were no ill effects, a cure would still enable bald people to lead a normal life.

That being said, I don't believe this cure exists. There are good preventative drugs, but it's highly doubtful any medication could actually restore dead follicles in humans. Those effects on mice are very likely not transferrable.

presidentender2• 15 years ago

Hear me out, my chrome-domed friend.

This man, the women would not find appealing. His appearance reduces his status: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VlmHNP9So5Y/Sm86i7qHqLI/AAAAAAAACe...

In holding on to the effectiveness of his remaining fertile follicles, he fails to display the very might and youthful vigor he seeks.

This man, on the other hand, the women love: http://filmpopper.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Patrick-Ste...

This is not only because men improve with age (to a certain point), but also because he cuts his remaining hair very short. He is, as Stephen King once described a character, "unabashadly bald." His confidence is such that he does not cling to the ghost of locks he lacks.

Another example: http://www.philosophyblog.com.au/images/alain-de-botton1.jpg as opposed to http://metkere.com/images/alain-de-botton-thumb-500x356.jpg

Now, I would encourage De Botton to cut his hair even shorter than in the second picture. But by cutting it as short as he has, and shaving the straggly portions up top, he has improved his appeal by indicating his comfortability with the situation.

You might also note a certain Mr. Jason Statham and that fellow who used to be called The Rock.

SandB0x• 15 years ago

There's truth in the meme: hit the gym. You can be George Costanza or you can be Vin Diesel/Bruce Willis/Jason Statham. Your choice.

Dove2• 15 years ago

most women find bald men very unappealing

Really? I know for a fact that there are women who are crazy about bald guys in particular. And I know that in men, maturity is a good thing, not a bad thing -- you have male sex symbols of actors who are pushing 50. And there's the association between baldness and confidence.

I guess your experience trumps my intuition, but I find it surprising. I'd think, on balance, baldness would be a benefit.

nextparadigms• 15 years ago

I once read that "Baldness is a weakness, but shaving bald is a choice", or something like that. Women find baldness as unhealthy, not necessarily in a rational manner, but unconsciously.

So maybe you should try shaving bald and getting a bad boy look with a goatee. Women who dig that look will like you. There's a market of women that like that look on a man.

Trying to look good through other methods will help too, like going to the gym, and dressing well. Women associate strong bodies with health, and dressing well with success and self-confidence.

And don't act like this is affecting you, especially if you'll shave. Act like you did it because it makes you look very good, and others around you will start believing it, too. If you look at that Picard picture above, you can see that he acts as if baldness looks good on him, and his self-confidence is showing, which is attractive to women.

kenjackson3• 15 years ago

most women find bald men very unappealing

Unless the man is black. In which case being bald seems to not be a net negative at all. Unfortunately, becoming black is probably harder than getting hair.

But for future offspring, if your hairloss is genetic, you can have a half-black child and put them in a better position. Although society tends to view blacks less favorably in general so the tradeoff here is still not a no-brainer.

georgieporgie7• 15 years ago

What? Being bald is awesome!

Baldness is caused by excess testosterone (not the muscle-building kind, unfortunately). It's associated with maturity and power. The best thing a bald(ing) guy can do is get in decent shape. You don't have to be Arnold, but a strong, bald guy exudes masculinity (look at Picard).

You don't have to waste time with barbers or hairdressers. Just buzz what remains every few days. You're automatically considered lower-maintenance and more masculine because of this.

You don't have bad hair days.

The only things about baldness that suck are sunburns (this is actually the worst thing about going bald, because you're exposed but can't just slather on sunscreen), and hitting your head on stuff. Hair provides a bonus inch or two of sensory input which helps you avoid banging your noggin.

Being young (25-ish) and bald(ing) is less fun, but a lot of the shallow negativity goes away when 50% of your friends start losing their hair by 30. Best of all: the ones who lose it later haven't learned to cope with it, and look hilariously desperate just as you're getting extremely confident.

adrianwaj2• 15 years ago

Be grateful you don't have yellow teeth. I can think of other physical characteristics that'd fare worse for you than baldness in terms of creating negative unconscious signals in others. I also think that even congenital conditions can be reversed through epigenetic change, but the awareness needed to do this is superhuman.

beaumartinez• 15 years ago

Why are wrinkles considered something that is so badly in need of a cure?

Why is not looking youthful something that is so badly in need of a cure?

Mz4• 15 years ago

...but WHY is baldness considered something that is so badly in need of a 'cure'?

I will suggest that stuff like this matters to people because it is (or can be) indicative of other, more important stuff. I'm female. I had crappy fingernails most of my life. Then I got diagnosed with a serious medical condition (genetic, so I've had it all my life). This serious medical condition significantly impacts the lungs. It's common knowledge in the medical community that the lung damage shows itself as clubbing and cyanosis of the fintertips. Getting my lungs healthier and improving my baseline health has caused me to have significant improvement in my fingernails. I have the most lovely fingernails I've ever had in my life.

More directly related to the hair issue: While very ill, I began going grey in my early 30's. In hanging out on health lists, I heard that grey hair can be caused by a PABA deficiency and/or adrenal stress. I treated for both with supplements and dietary changes. I am 45 (and have a life expectancy in my mid thirties, so in human terms I'm like the equivalent of an octogenarian :-P) and have less grey hair now than I did 10 years ago.

So I think all these "silly" concerns about "looks" are really rooted in more serious concerns about health. People don't find unhealthy folks attractive both as a means to protect their own health and as a means to protect the health of potential future offspring.

dstein• 15 years ago

Think of it as a stepping stone to curing the disease of aging. If we ever want to acheive immortality I'd say curing baldness is a good place to start.

chc2• 15 years ago

Baldness is considered something in need of a cure because it can hurt people's self-esteem and make their lives more difficult (particularly women and younger men, though it's true for older men as well). The fact that you either don't care about appearance or happen to like the bald look does not mean that everybody shares your viewpoint.

vacri4• 15 years ago

- Stigma (as already covered), especially if you're under 30. I knew a guy that was mostly bald by 20 - it was hell for him.

- 'bald is sexy' only applies to shaved bald, not pattern baldness. Shaved bald is a very high-maintenance haircut

- lack of options in how you can style your hair

- warmth

- scalp protection from injury

- sunburn

- some helmets and other headgear are not really designed for baldness (some also leave unattractive marks)

- sweat control

- self-identity (rockabilly fans like quiffs...)

I'm tall (198cm / 6'6") and the world is not built for me. I do more damage to myself now that I'm balding than when I had hair when I hit a low doorway. I now reflexify duck a bit any time I pass through a door, even if it's 250cm high...

georgieporgie7• 15 years ago

'bald is sexy' only applies to shaved bald, not pattern baldness.

Incorrect, as demonstrated by our heroes, Patrick Stewart and Jason Statham. Also, buzzing with clippers takes me 30 seconds every two or three days.

codingthebeach• 15 years ago

Related article that appeared a while back (focusing on growing hair follicles from stem cells).

http://news.bioscholar.com/2010/12/a-cure-for-baldness-could...

eddanger• 15 years ago

Awesome, long flowing hair... On your back!

giberson• 15 years ago

I notice this was the result of testing stress relievers on [stressed] mice. It occurs to me, it's very likely that this "cure" would only work on stress related baldness, not necessarily genetic baldness.

PS. I also feel compelled to mention previous experience with stress related baldness in animals. A few years back, I adopted a ferret from a friend who was heading off to the marines and wouldn't be able to take care of it. The ferret in question was bald along it's tail due to stress (my friend also owned two dogs that would harass the ferret). In only a few weeks of taking ownership of the ferret the hair had returned to his tail. In other words, it would appear that stress related baldness cures itself in when stress is relieved. So again, I don't really see this medication as any actual direct benefit for balding men. It may perhaps work wonders in relieving stress but the hair regrowth is not a result of the drug its a result of stress relief. A subtle but important difference.

Cossolus• 15 years ago

The same thing occured to me. The same thing probably occured to everyone that read the article, because that's exactly what the article says:

"The findings in the current study are limited in their application as this study models hair loss related to stress and thus may not be relevant to hair loss brought on by factors other than stress."

Accidental Find May Lead to a Cure For Baldness

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