Biohacking, CRISPR, DIYbio, Elaine Fuchs, Gene Modification, Psoriasis, Senolytics, Sox9, Synthetic Biology

Sox9 and the Hair Follicle and Biohacking

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Sox9 and the Hair Follicle

— An interesting paper (with Elaine Fuchs as a co-author) on how hair follicle stem cells have a strong sense of identity even after being taken out of their home in the hair follicle and then cultured. The Sox9 protein is the “pioneering factor” in all this.

— The coming age of senolytics. I like to say “coming age of…” a lot these days, and it seems like I am far from the only one. A great article was published last month on Novartis’s push for the first ever anti-aging pill. Make sure to also read my past posts on anti-aging.

— New treatment targeting interleukin-23 could be a break-through in the treatment of psoriasis. Note that interleukin-6 has been associated with hair loss and I might write a post on that in the near future.

— Apparently, all brown eyes can be changed to blue eyes. I have brown ones and will only change them if they can figure how to make them green or golden.

— The world’s first penis transplant, if you discount an earlier one done in China a few years ago that was not entirely successful. Finding a donor is not so easy though.

Biohacking and CRISPR

— An interesting new video on out of control biohacking and its dangers. If you have a DIYbio branch near you, probably worth a visit.

— Also see biohacking and DNA modification in someone’s home. The era of synthetic biology scares and excites people at the same time. Some person will sooner or later purposely create highly destructive organisms.

— Scientists warn against editing embryos. More on “DNA Scissors” and CRISPR here. A great new article on engineering the perfect baby. I think a perfect baby is one that never poops or cries, but I doubt that dream will ever be realized.

Anthony Oro, Hedgehog Pathway, Oro Laboratory, Stanford University

Oro Laboratory at Stanford University and Stanford Hair Loss Clinic

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Some time ago I had read about hair loss research being conducted at the Oro Laboratory at Stanford University, but my initial impression from seeing their website was that the lab’s main focus was related to cancer research.

However, recently I decided to revisit their site and discovered two interesting things in the process. First, per their publications page, it seems like they published close to 15 studies related to hair loss between 2000 and 2013. This is quite impressive, especially when considering that they only published around 50 studies in total during that period of time. In fact I find it rather strange that they focused so much of their work on hair loss. I would have guessed that research and funding grants are not easily available for hair loss related work? Or maybe Bill Gates is correct in his claim that baldness research gets a lot more funding than I would have ever thought? Unfortunately, Oro Labs did not publish any hair loss related research in 2014.  Hopefully 2015 will be different.

The second thing I discovered is that Stanford has a special hair loss clinic, with the sole doctor at the clinic being Dr. Anthony Oro, after whom the Oro Laboratory is named. It seems like Dr. Oro is very passionate about hair loss and perhaps this is because he is losing some hair himself? Or perhaps it is just because the hedgehog pathway is linked to both hair follicle formation as well as to certain cancers, so there is significant research overlap?

If you are concerned about hair loss and are in California or other nearby states, I would recommend visiting the hair clinic at Stanford University and talking to Dr. Oro. After all, how many other universities in the world have their very own hair clinic in addition to a laboratory that does significant hair loss related research? I very much doubt that most other famous hair loss researchers in the world also meet with patients. If I happen to visit California in the near future, I will probably try to see Dr. Oro prior to doing any sightseeing.