Level 1 — Absolute Beginner
Scientists learned something new about hair. For a long time, books said hair grows because cells at the bottom push it up.
Now, new research says this is not the whole story. Scientists used special cameras to watch living hair follicles. A follicle is the small part of skin where hair grows from.
The scientists saw that cells move in a spiral shape. This movement pulls the hair up, instead of just pushing it.
This new idea could help doctors understand hair loss better. It might also help make new treatments for people who lose their hair.
- hair follicle
- the small part of the skin where a hair grows from
- cell (biology)
- the smallest basic unit that makes up living things
- spiral
- a curved shape that winds around a center point
- research
- careful study done to learn new information
- hair loss
- when a person's hair falls out and does not grow back
- treatment (medical)
- something done to help cure or manage a health problem
- textbook
- a book used to teach a subject in school
- living
- alive; not dead
Level 2 — Elementary
For decades, biology textbooks have taught that human hair grows because cells at the base of the follicle divide and push the hair shaft upward. New research suggests that explanation is incomplete.
A team from L'Oreal Research and Innovation and Queen Mary University of London used advanced 3D live imaging to track individual cells inside living human hair follicles kept alive in laboratory culture.
The study found that cells in the outer root sheath, a layer of tissue surrounding the hair shaft, move in a spiral, downward path within the same region where the upward pulling force appears to originate. In other words, hair may be pulled up rather than simply pushed.
Published in the journal Nature Communications, the findings challenge a long-standing view of hair growth and could lead researchers to rethink treatments for hair loss, along with broader approaches in regenerative medicine.
- divide (cell)
- when a single cell splits into two new cells
- hair shaft
- the visible part of a hair that grows above the skin
- outer root sheath
- a layer of tissue that surrounds and protects the hair follicle
- tissue (biology)
- a group of similar cells that work together
- culture (laboratory)
- a method of growing cells or tissue outside a living body
- originate
- to begin or come from a particular source
- long-standing
- having existed for a long time
- regenerative medicine
- medical treatments that help the body repair or replace damaged tissue
Level 3 — Intermediate
For decades, biological textbooks have posited that human hair growth results from cellular division at the follicle's base, with proliferating cells mechanically pushing the hair shaft upward. Emerging research now suggests this account is fundamentally incomplete.
A collaborative team from L'Oreal Research and Innovation and Queen Mary University of London employed advanced three-dimensional live-imaging techniques to trace individual cell trajectories within living human hair follicles sustained in laboratory culture.
The investigation revealed that cells within the outer root sheath, the tissue layer ensheathing the hair shaft, migrate along a spiraling, downward trajectory within the very region from which the upward pulling force appears to emanate. The implication is that hair growth may be driven predominantly by pulling rather than pushing.
Published in Nature Communications, the findings challenge a long-entrenched paradigm of hair biology and could prompt researchers to reconsider therapeutic strategies for hair loss, as well as broader applications within regenerative medicine.
- posit
- to put forward as a fact or basis for argument
- proliferate
- to increase rapidly in number
- trajectory
- the path followed by an object or process over time
- ensheathe
- to enclose or cover something in a protective layer
- migrate (cellular)
- to move from one location to another, as cells within tissue
- emanate
- to originate or come forth from a source
- paradigm
- a widely accepted model or framework for understanding something
- therapeutic
- relating to the treatment or healing of illness
Level 4 — Advanced
For decades, biological textbooks have posited that human hair growth results from cellular division at the follicle's base, with proliferating cells mechanically propelling the hair shaft upward. Emerging research now suggests this account is fundamentally incomplete, if not substantially mistaken.
A collaborative team from L'Oreal Research and Innovation and Queen Mary University of London employed sophisticated three-dimensional live-imaging techniques to trace individual cell trajectories within living human hair follicles sustained ex vivo in laboratory culture.
The investigation revealed that cells within the outer root sheath, the tissue layer ensheathing the hair shaft, migrate along a spiraling, downward trajectory within the very region from which the upward pulling force appears to emanate, suggesting the existence of a previously unrecognized cellular 'motor' driving growth. The implication is that hair elongation may be governed predominantly by traction rather than compression.
Published in Nature Communications, the findings destabilize a long-entrenched paradigm of hair biology and could compel researchers to reconsider therapeutic strategies for alopecia, as well as broader applications within regenerative medicine.
- propel
- to drive or push something forward
- ex vivo
- occurring or performed outside a living organism, using living tissue
- elongation
- the process of becoming longer
- traction
- a pulling force applied to move or drag something
- compression
- the action of pressing or squeezing something to reduce its volume or drive it forward
- destabilize
- to undermine the stability or security of something
- entrenched
- firmly established and difficult to change
- alopecia
- the medical term for hair loss
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