What's in the news...

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania USA, have coaxed stem cells into growing hair for the first time.

Within 10 years stem cell science could help bald people to regrow their own hair where it has been lost and might also help develop treatments for other hair loss conditions like alopaecia.

The discovery was made when scientists were researching the wound healing process in mice and noticed that new hair follicles formed underneath the new skin as the wound healed.

It was previously thought that follicles, the tiny structures responsible for hair growth, were always formed before birth - baldness occurring as the follicles died out.

"This work shows that new hair follicles are made in adult skin, at least when it is healing a wound. The implication is that it might be simpler than we thought to make new hair follicles as a treatment for hair loss." commented Dr Denis Headon, a developmental biologist from Manchester University.

We'll be following this story and will add details to the site as we get more information, so keep an eye on our "Treating Hair Loss" section.