Grey is Good for You

I don't know if men or women get more anxious about grey hair but, if the latest science is to be believed, we all should welcome it. Hair goes grey when the number of stem cells in hair follicles declines. Now a scientist of Toyko Medical and Dental University in Japan and colleagues have found what causes this decline in mice.

When the researchers exposed mice to radiation and chemicals that harm DNA, damaged stem cells transformed permanently into melanocytes which produce the pigments that colour hair and their numbers are kept topped up by stem cells. This ultimately led to fewer melanocytes, as it meant there were fewer stem cells capable of topping up the melanocyte pool. The mice also went grey.

David Fisher, a cancer researcher at Harvard Medical School, suggests such processes may hep protect us from cancer, by discouraging the proliferation of stem cells with damaged DNA, which could pass on mutations. "One likely beneficial effect is the removal of potentially dangerous cells that may contain pre-cancerous capabilities," he says.

So don't think grey hair is all bad news. Yes it shows we're all getting older but it could be very good for you.

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