Genetic Help to Negate Gray Hair

Dyeing your gray hair but not satisfied? Want to go for something on a permanent basis? Your wait is about to wane off very soon. The science of Genetics is about to come to your rescue. Gray hair comes with a lot of pressure on a person. Geneticists have made the introductory discovery of changing gray hair into black by carrying out specific changes in the genetic make up.

It all started with bringing some changes in the scalp genes in an albino mouse about four years ago. This led to prevention of onset of graying. Gray hair treatment has been undergoing a regular revolution ever since. We are on the threshold of discovering a pill that would prevent the estimated average 110,000 hairs on a person’s head from turning gray.

Chris Gummer believes a single strand of hair can be devastating. “One gray fiber is enough to shatter a life,” said Gummer, a senior research fellow at Procter & Gamble labs in London, U.K. “Even if someone has 20 million dark hairs on his/her head, this single strand can create a tremendous cascade of grief.”

The ongoing experiments to prevent grey hair have been very forthcoming. Kyonggeun Yoon and Vitaly Alexeev of Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia created DNA molecules and allowed it to mutate with DNA within the albino mouse’s hair follicles. He was successful in correcting the mutation and restored pigment in its hair. If the melanin pigment remains in the hair it will never grow gray. Their success lay in correcting the mutation process in an albino mouse.

Cosmetic science has been given a new meaning. Its potential has further intensified with the onset of the process. If the gene therapy could make the white hair of an albino mouse turn black, it should also help banish gray hair and that too without dyes. It is a challenge and scientists are working hard to come out with a new form of gray hair treatment that would prevent grey hair and give a run to dyes. However, most agree there are some formidable hurdles yet ahead since the target is a complex one.

Each strand of hair is made of the protein keratin and grows out of a follicle in the scalp’s skin that has cells filled with melanin. About 85 to 90 percent of a person’s hairs are actively growing while the remaining is dormant. Each strand grows for three to five years and then falls out after about four months. As a strand grows, these cells donate a little color to the hair cells in the form of tiny granules of melanin. One form of melanin, called pheomelanin, creates blondes and redheads, while another, eumelanin, colors the hair of those with brown or black hair.

The problem starts around the age of 30 in men and a little later in women when these pigment cells gradually stop producing melanin and without the chemical, our hair turns white or gray. Some studies have shown that poor health, anemia, thyroid problems and possibly smoking can cause hair to go gray sooner.

These pigment cells need reactivation. The process is a complex one as it will involve many adjoining skin cells which can cause fair amount of damage to the skin if altered. Also, melanin is important in protecting the skin from sun damage. So scientists need to be careful in letting the nearby cells remain undisturbed. There’s also the initiation process to ensure that the pigment cells, if turned back on, continues to stay on.

Sport your natural look if you are allergic to those dyes and wait for the new phenomenon to arrive. It’s going to be fruitful and rewarding at the same time.

Colin Firth and Rachel Hurd-Wood come together to give us a taste of the literary in Dorian Gray, a movie that proves that, while life usually imitates art, sometimes art gets the first crack instead. When a young man manages to keep his youthful charm, and appearance, for a whole lot longer than his years and overcharged lifestyle would indicate possible, the answer to his seemingly eternal youth is downright frightening. Check out the trailer! It seems at least passingly faithful to the original work, and has a good chance at finding an audience when it hits theatres worldwide starting in September. But will you turn out for Dorian Gray? Give us your plans in the comments below, and thanks for watching! Dorian Gray Cast: Ben Barnes, Colin Firth, Rebecca Hall, Ben Chaplin, Emilia Fox, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Fiona Shaw, Maryam D’Abo, Pip Torrens, Douglas Henshall, Caroline Goodall, Michael Culkin, Johnny Harris, Max Irons Dorian Gray movie trailer courtesy Momentum Pictures. Dorian Gray opens in US theaters September 9th, 2009. Dorian Gray is directed by Oliver Parker.
Video Rating: 4 / 5