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It's not easy being a preteen "wolf boy" - but scientists at Columbia University are confident they've finally found the silver bullet that can cure one. Pruthviraj Patil, 11, suffers from a rare genetic disorder known as hypertrichosis - or "werewolf syndrome" - which causes a thick coat of hair to grow over every inch of his body except his palms and feet. (edit)When he was born in a village near Mumbai, his mother was told she had given birth to a god, but in school, there have been more bullies than believers. Christiano and her colleagues at Columbia...

MIAMI – Asha Mandela has hair that could rival Rapunzel's. The South Florida woman who started growing her hair 20 years ago now has locks longer than she is tall. Mandela has submitted her hair, which measure 8-feet, 9-inches long, to the Guinness Book of World Records for the Longest Dreadlocks, the first entry in a new category.

The Republican National Committee has spent more than $150,000 to clothe and accessorize vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and her family since her surprise pick by John McCain in late August. According to financial disclosure records, the accessorizing began in early September and included bills from Saks Fifth Avenue in St. Louis and New York for a combined $49,425.74. The records also document a couple of big-time shopping trips to Neiman Marcus in Minneapolis, including one $75,062.63 spree in early September. The RNC also spent $4,716.49 on hair and makeup through September after reporting no such costs in August. The...

Hot off the press, from yours truly, Charles Henrickson, the wag tailoring the doggerel. Click the music link and sing along! AYERSTune: "Hair" (Don't ask this guy) When I knew Ayers or why I'm beggin' noon and (nighty, night, night): Keep Ayers out of sight! I met him long ago But don't ask me why ('Cause he don't know) It's not for lack of years Sharin' our careers (Dreamin') Was I in bed with Ayers Bill "Radical" Ayers Burnin', hatin' Bombin' his own nation Get me out of where (Ayers) Served as my old mentor (Ayers) Near Barry Obama...

(DOVER, DEL.) - Joe Biden loves a crowd of Democrats as much as a crowd of Democrats loves him, and he had no trouble flexing his wit and his political weight tonight in Delaware. Biden had a suggestion for his fellow Democrats when they watch the final debate between Barack Obama and John McCain – kill the volume. “For this debate, for part of this next debate, do what I did for part of the last two debates. Literally, turn the sound off. I’m not being…I’m not joking now. Literally, turn the sound off. And just watch. Watch the body...

Crazy funky chignons, reminiscent of Elvis Presley’s hair-do popped up at the Emporio Armani, Roberto Cavalli, Sinha Stanic and Sportmax Fall/Winter ’09 fashion shows. Take our poll and tell us, are they hot or not?

I have a large bald area in the crown (top/back) with more hair in the front, but still thinning with a high hairline. I am concerned that a hair transplant in my case will show significant improvements in the front but I’ll still have a large bald spot on top/back. Here’s an example of my concern about hair transplantation - Sen. Joe Biden. He looks like he’s had a hair transplant (if you compare now to old photos) and looks pretty good in front. But when his head is tipped forward, the top and back are quite sparse compared to...

Whoa. My morning news perusal has brought me several stories discussing Obama's hair color, and the very important debate about whether he has a little Revlon secret. New York Magazine posted two images of Obama from Getty; the one on the left is from July 27th, and the one on the right is from yesterday. Their synopsis: "Barack Obama has begun talking about how he's 'going gray' lately, and it's true -- the man's hair is going silver faster than you can say 'Anderson Cooper with a tan.' So fast, in fact, that we have to wonder at the legitimacy...

A small rural school district in Fort Bend County and a determined mother are tangled in a dispute over hair. Michelle Betenbaugh says her 5-year-old son, Adriel Arocha, wears his hair long because of religious beliefs tied to his Native American heritage. But the leaders of the Needville school district have strict rules about long hair on boys and don't see any reason to make an exception in his case. The dispute illustrates a problem American schools have faced for decades: how to balance individual student rights against rules designed to maintain order and discipline in the classroom. The case...

The realization almost always prompts a double take, a moment of inspection, maybe even a debate: Is baby-faced Barack Obama, the symbol of a younger political generation, actually aging in front of us? By his own admission this week, “the gray is coming quick,” so that it now dusts his head like snowflakes. The laugh lines cut a little deeper, and the crow's-feet around his eyes appear slightly more pronounced. The presidency ages presidents, but so, it seems, has the longest campaign in modern history aged a candidate. “By the time I’m sworn in, I will look the part,” Obama...

But hair sample could have been from a wandering mercenary. An early wave of migration into the New World and the Arctic has been identified by sequencing a genome from a frozen hair excavated in Greenland. Archaeological evidence shows that there were two waves of migration to Greenland starting 4,500 years ago, first with the Saqqaq and then the Dorset groups, collectively known as the Paleo-Eskimos. Later, around 1,000 years ago, came the Thule culture which led to the current native population. The relationship between these three groups has been uncertain. Some theories hold that Paleo-Eskimos derived from the populations...

DNA reveals Neanderthal redheadsNeanderthals’ pigmentation possibly as varied as humans’, scientists say By Steve BradtWith Neanderthals’ surviving bones providing few clues, scientists have long sought to flesh out the appearance of this hominid species. Illustration created by Knut Finstermeier, Neanderthal reconstruction by the Reiss-Engelhorn-Museum Mannheim Ancient DNA retrieved from the bones of two Neanderthals suggests that at least some of them had red hair and pale skin, scientists report this week in the journal Science. The international team says that Neanderthals’ pigmentation may even have been as varied as that of modern humans, and that at least 1 percent of...

And The Winners Are....

KANDAHAR AIR FIELD, Afghanistan, April 9, 2008 – An Air Force noncommissioned officer who had long hair all of her life decided during her deployment here to let her hair brighten some lives. Air Force Staff Sgt. Jenet Akerson, 451st Expeditionary Communications Flight Network Control Center technician at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, looks at her new hair style March 31, 2008. Akerson donated 13 inches of her hair to “Locks of Love,” a nonprofit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children with long-term medical hair loss. She is deployed from the 435th Communications Squadron, Ramstein Air Base, Germany. Photo...

Halle Berry uses hair extensions. So does Angelina Jolie. Much of the hair they end up with comes from women who offer up their locks to Hindu gods in Indian temples. SPIEGEL followed one pilgrim's hair from Bangalore to Munich. It's a Tuesday in January, and Verena Franke is sitting in the Visage Hair salon in Munich's trendy Schwabing neighborhood. She wants longer hair because she is convinced that it's attractive and will make her look more feminine. Beyond that, she hasn't thought much about it. She has worked her way up to this day, saving €1,000 ($680) in tips....

PHILADELPHIA — It might be the strangest way to spend Presidents Day. For the first time, The Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia will display a scrapbook that includes the hair from the first 12 U.S. presidents. It will be on view from Saturday to Monday.

About 15 tons of it on a recent day, imported from China, neatly pressed into mats and ready to ship to farmers and nursery growers who swear by the horticultural benefits of Blacker's hairy wares. The mats stored in southern Miami-Dade County are part of a world marketplace for human hair. Uses range from the obvious, such as false eyelashes and wigs, to the more obscure: it's a common raw-material source for l-cysteine, an amino acid frequently used in baked goods such as pizza dough and bagels

Note: On Friday's edition of TBNN we will present the views of the top Republican candidates.It is no secret who the top to contenders are for the Democratic nomination. Since the beginning of the Presidential campaign, Senators Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama have dominated the news. For both candidates, a White House win would mean a history-making first for the United States, Clinton being the first woman president, Obama being the first African-American to hold the office. Current polls show both candidates running neck-in-neck with one another, and both candidates are realizing that in order to win the nomination they...

FLORIDA CITY, Fla. — Walking into the small Florida City warehouse, Blair Blacker pauses to survey the towering pyramid of canvas bundles, each about the size of a punching bag, that contain the stock-in-trade of his business: human hair. About 15 tons of it on a recent day, imported from China, neatly pressed into mats and ready to ship to farmers and nursery growers who swear by the horticultural benefits of Blacker's hairy wares. "If you had told me when I was flying combat helicopters in Vietnam that one day I'd be sitting on 30,000 pounds of human hair," said...

(FLORIDA CITY) -- Walking into the small Florida City warehouse, Blair Blacker pauses to survey the towering pyramid of canvas bundles, each about the size of a punching bag, that contain the stock-in-trade of his business: human hair. About 15 tons of it on a recent day, imported from China, neatly pressed into mats and ready to ship to farmers and nursery growers who swear by the horticultural benefits of Blacker's hairy wares. "If you had told me when I was flying combat helicopters in Vietnam that one day I'd be sitting on 30,000 pounds of human hair," said Blacker,...

Ancient DNA retrieved from the bones of two Neanderthals suggests that at least some of them had red hair and pale skin, scientists report this week in the journal Science. The international team says that Neanderthals' pigmentation may even have been as varied as that of modern humans, and that at least 1 percent of Neanderthals were likely redheads. The scientists -- led by Holger Römpler of Harvard University and the University of Leipzig, Carles Lalueza-Fox of the University of Barcelona, and Michael Hofreiter of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig -- extracted, amplified, and sequenced a...

A Detroit charter schools says one student's hairdo is definitely a don't and tells him to lose the Afro puff or don't come back. But the mother of Claudius Benson II says her son's school went too far, and she's suing. Benson, 14, hasn't cut his hair in 10 years. Officials at his school, Old Redford Academy, say the ninth-grader was suspended because his hair is too long. The dress code requires "close-cropped" hair. So why is his mom suing? Alecha Benson says she follows the Old Testament passages that she interprets as prohibiting the cutting of her son's hair,...

Western-style Barbers Get the Chop in Iran August 24, 2007 The Guardian Robert Tait in Tehran Police in Tehran have closed two dozen barber shops and hairdressers in a fortnight in the latest phase of a "morals" crackdown aimed at enforcing Islamic dress codes among young Iranians. The businesses were shut after being identified as purveyors of decadent "western" culture. Eleven women's hair-stylists were told to stop trading for offering customers' tattoos. Tattooed eyebrows - in which the hair is shaved and replaced with elaborate patterns - are popular amongst many young Iranian women. One women's salon was shut when...

The Pinellas School Board on Tuesday approved a one-day suspension for a white teacher who referred to the hair of an African American girl as "nappy." The board voted 5-2 in favor of the suspension and diversity training for Belcher Elementary teacher Porsha Call. Board members Linda Lerner and Janet Clark voted against the unpaid suspension, saying they did not consider the word racially offensive. "I don't use the term nappy. I've used the word frizzy for my own hair at times," said Lerner, who agreed with a related recommendation that Call receive diversity training. "I did not realize it...

China's hairiest man, a wannabe pop star who calls himself King Kong, wants to carry the Olympic torch on its journey to Beijing in 2008. Yu Zhenhuan, from the northeastern province of Liaoning, told the Xinhua news agency that his fame and extreme hirsutism qualified him to be one of the 21,880 people who will carry the torch on its roundabout, 85,000-mile voyage next year. "It would be a great honour to join the Olympic torch relay," said Mr Yu, a 30-year-old rock singer who was recently deposed as the world's hairiest man by a pair of Mexican brothers. "The...

CRANSTON, R.I., June 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The political pundits and campaign strategists are overlooking one key to candidate success in the 2008 presidential race, and the history proves it, said Dr. Robert Leonard, who is offering his 20 years of experience to the discussion. "Hair is the winning factor," he said. "The historical record comes down squarely against balding candidates and shows that America wants presidents with hair," said Leonard, a hair loss expert. Call it the hair factor. It's an indicator more accurate than the Presidential Height Index. The only exceptions have been Eisenhower and Zachary Taylor. Leonard is...

Study demonstrates that mice can regrow hair follicles at wound sites; the finding could lead to treatment for human hair lossAside from a few, fleeting empirical observations in the 1950s, adult mammals appear to be lacking regenerative abilities. Just ask anyone whose hair follicles have died—the result is baldness. But there is a glimmer of hope for the hair-challenged among us. Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania report that new hair follicles formed on the backs of mice that had suffered open skin wounds. The finding could pave the way for use in regenerating human hair. In fact, that possibility...

Straigtened, flat, messy and spiky. What a load. Hollywood types today spend almost as much as John Edwards on their hairdos, only to have them look purposely tussled as if they just rolled out of bed. No style, nothing to complement them. Granted, long gorgeous hair is nice anytime----if its combed. But the gals I grew up watching on the tube or in some cases, dating, at least took the time to try to be pleasing to the eye. Enough grumbling. Here are the top 7 sexiest styles of recent decades, in no particular order. 7. The Farrah look. Feathered,...

...Americans have revered such homely leaders as Abe Lincoln. They seem open to balding pates like Rudy’s and flattops like Jon Tester’s. They don’t want self-confidence to look like self-love.[If this is original with Dowd, it is a very good summary of human nature]... ...Someone who aspires to talk credibly about the two Americas can’t lavish on his locks what working families may spend on electricity in a year. You can’t sell earnestness while indulging in decadence. Mr. Edwards, the son of a mill worker, moved from a $5.2 million, six-bedroom Federal mansion in Georgetown to a 28,000-square-foot behemoth in...

On March 16, 2007, an unusual rock went on display in Beijing. This rock has "hair," almost identical to human hair, growing out of its "head." The rock is iron gray in color, naturally smooth and rounded, and is similar to a cobblestone. There is also a very thin layer of scalp tissue connecting the "hair" to the rock. The hair is grey in color and similar to the color of the rock itself. The hair grows quite naturally from the top with the longest strands being about 15 centimeters (6 inches) long. The hair is slightly coarser than human...

MILWAUKEE, Wis. --Don't expect Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney to endorse hair dye products anytime soon. The former governor of Massachusetts laid to rest on Friday any rumors that he dyes his hair black. His sleek dark coif, with just a hint of gray on his sideburns, is completely natural, he told reporters following a fundraiser in Milwaukee. "I don't dye it. I don't color it and you can take a real close camera shot and see there's a lot of gray mixed in with all that black," said a laughing Romney. Earlier this month Romney turned 60, an age...

An upmarket London beauty salon's claims that bull semen can give hair the ultimate shine is likely to go untried in the Waikato. Hari's, in hoity toity Chelsea, offers a 45-minute Aberdeen Organic Hair treatment involving massaging a protein-rich mixture of bull semen and a plant root into the client's hair. But Julie May, who owns The Salon, in Garden Place, Hamilton, is not keen to try it in her establishment. "I would not want it on my hair. I know what the reaction from customers would be here and I know what my staff would say," she said. "It's...

Madison, WI (LifeNews.com) -- Scientists at the Medical College of Wisconsin have found what may be another alternative to embryonic stem cells. They have found that adult stem cells from hair follicles, which don't involve the destruction of human life to obtain, are different from other types of skin cells. The researchers recently identified the molecular signature of hair follicle stem cells called epidermal neural crest stem cells. The college says the study resolves conflicting scientific opinions by showing that these cells are distinctly different from other types of skin-resident stem cells. The MCW research team has reported their findings...

Adult stem cells found in the bulge of hair follicles may provide an alternative to embryonic stem cells, say researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.   Like embryonic stem cells, these epidermal neural crest stem cells have a high degree of plasticity, can be isolated at high levels of purity, and can be expanded in culture, the researchers said.And, similar to other types of adult stem cells, the epidermal neural crest stem cells can be harvested through a minimally invasive procedure. This means that it may be possible to use a patient's own hair as source for stem...

BEDFORD -- Here's a hairy case for investigators. A woman shoplifted two hairpieces worth $110 on Dec. 18 from Armstrong-McCall Beauty Supply. The theft was uncovered when an employee found two empty packages at the business in the 4100 block of Airport Freeway. The employee went into an office and reviewed videotape from a surveillance camera to determine what had happened to the packages. On the surveillance tape, a woman is shown opening the packages and placing the hairpieces in a sales catalog that she was carrying. She then left the business and drove away in a white car. No...

Hairstyles in the 1980s were mostly large and fulsome. The decade began with a continuance of the Purdey cult hair cut. The New Avenger series of 1976-79 and which starred Joanna Lumley left above, is recalled as much as anything for its famous Purdey Haircut. The Purdey streamlined hair style was simply a version of a slick bob with a definite back neckline contour. Versions were seen throughout the 1980s and the hairstyle worn by Princess Diana at her engagement above is a version of this bobbed combed forward style with shaped nape of neck style. Look at any picture...

Talk about going back to your roots... The average British woman spends an astonishing £36,903.75 on her hair in a lifetime, according to new research. She will spend the equivalent of just under two YEARS of her life washing, styling, cutting, colouring, crimping and straightening her locks in salons or at home. A whopping 650 days will be dedicated solely to creating a 'salon look' in her own bathroom. The average woman splashes out a monthly average of £10.08 on shampoos and conditioners, £14.03 on home styling products and £301.14 a year on haircuts and colouring. She spends the equivalent...

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Halle Berry aside, most American men show an "overwhelming" preference for women sporting long, luscious hair compared to shorter cuts, researchers report. Oh, and sorry, Madonna: men also seem to prefer brunettes over blondes, by a wide margin. The findings are based on interviews with 50 men conducted by psychology researcher Dr. Kelley Kline, of Florida State University in Panama City, Florida. She and co-authors Dr. Colin Peeler and undergraduate student Kim Fazzone presented their findings earlier this month at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Society, in Atlanta. Numerous studies have examined the...

Human Hair Follicle Stem CellsCategory: Dermatology NewsArticle Date: 06 Jan 2006 In a study appearing in the January 4, 2006 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Jonathan Vogel and colleagues from the National Cancer Institute successfully isolated and characterized genes expressed by human hair follicle stem cells. The isolation, cultivation, and propagation of these stem cells are important for tissue-engineering approaches to treating disorders of the hair and skin. Stem cells in the skin and hair follicles are the ultimate source of cells that regenerate the skin and the growth of new hairs. Vogel and colleagues used sophisticated...

Video (movie will open in a separate window)Choose your format: Quicktime Realmedia Plan on wearing green this St. Patrick's Day? Bet you can't top a mouse with green skin. As this ScienCentral News video explains, this mouse is green for a very serious reason. It's invaluable to researchers learning how to grow nerve cells. Knitting New NeuronsEven for scientists, it's not every day you see a hairless mouse glowing bright green under a fluorescent light. And for scientists searching for stem cells that could grow into nerve or brain cells, seeing such a mouse meant finding a possible whole...

Abstract Recent reports of problem foods in Mainland China have raised global concerns about the safety of Chinese food products. Drawing on reliable data extracted from Chinese newspapers, magazines and the Internet, this report, the second in the series, takes a closer look at the hair-made soy sauce, a common kitchen-accessory for marinating and seasoning foods. It seeks to inform the scientific and medical communities regarding the potential short- and long-term epidemic consequences of consuming such soy sauce

Hair from the head of convicted Springfield serial killer Alfred Gaynor went on sale online yesterday as a bill intended to halt crime profiteering appeared marked for death on Beacon Hill. “Just when you think you can’t be any more disgusted by the actions of perpetrators and some members of the public, you find, sadly, that you can be,” said state Rep. Peter J. Koutoujian (D-Waltham), whose proposed legislation has only until July 31 to pass.

"Sad comb-overs, cheap hairpieces... and just bad hair styles. Which of the following has the WORST hair in Congress?"

Philadelphia, PA (LifeNews.com) -- Human hair could be a new source of adult stem cells and provide another alternative to embryonic stem cell research. Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have isolated a new source of adult stem cells that appear to have the potential to differentiate into several cell types. If further study proves successful, the researchers say it could yield the tissue needed by an individual for treating a host of disorders, including peripheral nerve disease, Parkinson's disease, and spinal cord injury. "We are very excited about this new source of adult stem cells that...

At Six Flags, the Don'ts of Dos Employees Say Their Ethnic Hairstyles Are Challenged as 'Extreme,' and They've Complained to ACLU By Avis Thomas-Lester Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, June 17, 2006; B01 It's right there, under "Extreme Hairstyles," in the 2006 seasonal handbook for Six Flags America employees: no dreadlocks, tails, partially shaved heads "or any hairstyle that detracts or takes away from Six Flags theming." Braids "must be in neat, even rows and without beads or other ornaments," the amusement park handbook advises.

Blood, Iron, and Gray HairAnemia in old age is a rising concern Ben Harder The life of a red blood cell is brief but fast paced. Each heartbeat pumps millions of the tiny cells into the body's vascular system at speeds of more than a meter per second. In about a minute, they can carry oxygen from the lungs to tissues in the rest of the body and return to the lungs. And they die before they're 4 months old. The body replaces old red blood cells by generating fresh ones, typically producing about 2 million cells per second. A...

LONDON -- It took $13,700 to make the hair look good for a month. A London newspaper said Prime Minister Tony Blair's Labor Party spent almost $14,000 on hairstyling bills for Blair's wife during last year's month-long general election campaign. The Times said the party lists the styling bills as an election expense of $490 a day for a month of campaigning. A Labor spokeswoman responded, "So what?" She said Cherie Blair worked hard and is enormously popular, then added, "Don't forget, we won the election."

You know we've come a long way when our idea of racism has moved from fire hoses and segregation to a black congresswoman's outrage at not being recognized by a Capitol Hill policeman. Rep. Cynthia McKinney is now sulking in lonely indignity as her latest claims about racial profiling have even embarrassed her colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus. Reports are that caucus members advised her to back off and that even highly respected civil rights veteran Rep. John Lewis, D., Ga., suggested she "lower the temperature and stop holding press conferences." Only a member of Congress as detached from...