baldness
© GettyWill scientists soon finally be able to cure baldness?
For many men, going bald is just about the worst thing they can imagine happening to them. So blokes worried about their failing follicles may want to take some solace from a new study which could pave the way for a cure for baldness.

South Korean scientists have cooked up a chemical that's been shown to promote hair growth in mice. This game-changing substance has the snappy name 'CXXC-type zinc finger protein 5' and disrupts a process within cells which controls the development of hair follicles and also the healing of wounds.

When tested on mice over a 28 day period, the CXXC protein promoted the growth of new follicles.

Hair was also found to grow at a faster rate when applied to mice along with a chemical called valproic acid.

Professor Kang-Yell Choi of Yonsei University, who lead the research, said: 'We have found a protein that controls the hair growth and developed a new substance that promotes hair regeneration by controlling the function of the protein. 'We expect that the newly developed substance will contribute to the development of a drug that not only treats hair loss but also regenerate damaged skin tissues.'

Spencer Kobren, the founder of the American Hair Loss Association, famously described jokes about bald men as 'the last bastion of political incorrectness'.

Many sensitive chaps find losing their hair to be an intensely traumatic experience and have called for an end to 'bald shaming'.

Girl on the Net, an anonymous British sex blogger, recently spoke about the issue in a tweet which said: 'Bodyshaming is bad... except when it's bald men?'


The blogger previously published an article in which she wrote: 'The time, effort and worry invested in something as inconsequential as the collection of keratin strands you collect on top of your head could be much better spent in other ways. 'You could learn to play the piano, take up a sport, read books and newspapers - anything.

And even girls who like a guy with neatly-trimmed locks will probably admit that they'd rather he were talented, funny, or interesting.'

Last year, boffins found a potential cure for alopecia, a condition which causes bald patches to appear on sufferers' heads.

Scientists also made a breakthrough when they discovered genes which could cause hair loss.