Grey hair may be a thing of the past
Scientists have discovered the gene that makes hair lose its body and texture, and eventually turns it grey. With this new insight, experts can now unlock techniques that slow or even halt that process.
The next step is to use this information to manufacture cosmetic applications that actually stops hair from fading.
The gene, IRF4 has been known to affect colour, but now scientists have proven that it has a unique role in the ‘inexorable transition to shades of grey’.
Andres Ruiz-Linares, a professor at the University College London Genetics Institute who led the study said “An initial avenue has to do with the role IRF4 could play in survival and maintenance of cells that make pigment”.
One could even “wildly contemplate” the use of gene editing, he said.
