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We baldies need more respect — not hair transplants

We baldies need more respect — not hair transplants

Times15-07-2025
I was relieved when I started losing my hair. It happened at 20, in my third year at university. I woke up one morning, looked in the mirror and saw the first signs of my unruly spring of curls throwing in the towel.
Finally, I thought. No more walking around like a discount Seth Rogen after a humid day.
I marched straight to the barbers, asked for a No 0 and never looked back. Sure, I could have clung to those last desperate curls, hanging on like passengers on a doomed flight, but I didn't fancy being the guy everyone whispered about ('Just shave it off, mate'). So I embraced it. Bald? Fine. Turkey for a budget hair transplant? Hell, no.
Honestly, losing my hair never really bothered me.
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Surrogates at greater risk of new mental illness than women carrying own babies, study finds
Surrogates at greater risk of new mental illness than women carrying own babies, study finds

The Guardian

time13 hours ago

  • The Guardian

Surrogates at greater risk of new mental illness than women carrying own babies, study finds

Surrogates have a greater chance of being newly diagnosed with a mental illness during and after pregnancy than women who carry their own offspring, researchers have found. In addition, regardless of how they conceived, women with a previous record of mental illness were found to have a higher risk of being diagnosed with such conditions during and after pregnancy than those without. While laws around surrogates, or 'gestational carriers', vary around the world, the practice is booming. According to Global Market Insights, the market is expected to grow from $27.9bn (£20.8bn) in 2025 to $201.8bn (£150.2bn) in 2034. 'Our findings underscore the importance of adequate screening and counselling of potential gestational carriers before pregnancy about the possibility of a new-onset mental illness, or exacerbation of a prior mental illness during or after pregnancy,' said Dr Maria Velez, the first author of the research, from McGill University in Canada. 'As well, the provision of support during and after pregnancy may be particularly important for gestational carriers.' Writing in the journal Jama Network Open, Velez and colleagues report how they analysed data from 767,406 births in Ontario that occurred between 1 April 2012 and 31 March 2021. Of these, 748,732 involved unassisted conceptions, 758 involved surrogacy, and the others involved IVF in mothers who carried their own babies. Velez said the vast majority of surrogacy cases in Canada involved the surrogate being unrelated to the child, meaning the surrogate's eggs were not used in conception. Among those excluded from this initial analysis were women with a record of mental illness prior to the estimated date of conception. The team analysed the number of women in each group who received a diagnosis of a new-onset mental illness since the estimated date of conception, such as anxiety disorder, mood disorder, self-harm or psychosis. These diagnoses occurred in 236 surrogates, 195,022 women who had an unassisted conception and 4,704 women who had received IVF. After accounting for factors such as age, income, smoking and number of children, this corresponded to a 43% and 29% higher incidence rate of new mental illness per 100 people per year of follow-up in surrogates compared with women who had an unassisted conception or IVF, respectively. For all three groups, mood or anxiety disorder was the most common diagnosis, while median time from conception to diagnosis was similar, at about two and a half years. The researchers found the risk of new mental illness remained elevated in surrogates, but to a lesser degree, when compared with women who had an unassisted conception but no longer lived with their child a year after the birth. 'The finding might suggest that some gestational carriers may experience grief from relinquishing their newborn, like that described after adoption or removal of the child into foster care – something that needs further studies,' said Velez. The team then carried out further analyses that included women with a previous record of mental illness and found all groups in this category had a higher rate of new-onset mental illness than those with no previous record. Despite Canada requiring would-be surrogates to undergo psychological assessments, the results revealed 19% of surrogates in the study had a documented diagnosis of mental illness before pregnancy. The study follows previous research by the team that found surrogates were more likely to experience complications including severe postpartum haemorrhage and severe pre-eclampsia. Dr Zaina Mahmoud, an expert on the socio-legal aspects of surrogacy at the University of Liverpool, in England, who was not involved in the work, said further research was needed to explore whether the greater risk of new mental illness in surrogates was down to the pregnancy itself, and the mechanisms at play. '[The researchers are] not addressing why or how surrogates have these emotional trajectories,' she said, adding that the team had used very broad definitions of mental illness. 'They hypothesise that grief from relinquishing the infant may contribute, but they don't actually measure that grief.' But Mahmoud backed the call for greater screening and support for potential surrogates, saying the work suggested support should last for more than two years after the birth. The studies 'really highlight the need for robust information and consent procedures', she said.

Neanderthals were not ‘hypercarnivores' and feasted on maggots, scientists say
Neanderthals were not ‘hypercarnivores' and feasted on maggots, scientists say

The Guardian

time18 hours ago

  • The Guardian

Neanderthals were not ‘hypercarnivores' and feasted on maggots, scientists say

For hungry Neanderthals, there was more on the menu than wild mammals, roasted pigeon, seafood and plants. Chemical signatures in the ancient bones point to a nutritious and somewhat inevitable side dish: handfuls of fresh maggots. The theory from US researchers undermines previous thinking that Neanderthals were 'hypercarnivores' who stood at the top of the food chain with cave lions, sabre-toothed tigers and other beasts that consumed impressive quantities of meat. Rather than feasting on endless mammoth steaks, they stored their kills for months, the scientists believe, favouring the fatty parts over lean meat, and the maggots that riddled the putrefying carcasses. 'Neanderthals were not hypercarnivores, their diet was different,' said John Speth, professor emeritus of anthropology at the University of Michigan. 'It's likely maggots were a major food.' Neanderthals were thought to be top of the food chain because of the high levels of heavy nitrogen in their bones. Nitrogen builds up in living organisms when they metabolise protein in their food. A lighter form of the element, nitrogen-14, is excreted more readily than the heavier form, nitrogen-15. As a result, heavy nitrogen builds up in organisms with each step up the food chain, from plants to herbivores to carnivores. While the levels of heavy nitrogen in Neanderthal bones place them at the top of the food chain, they would not have been able to handle the amount of meat needed to reach those levels, the researchers say. 'Humans can only tolerate up to about 4 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, whereas animals like lions can tolerate anywhere from two to four times that much protein safely,' said Speth. Since many Indigenous groups around the world routinely consume maggots in putrefied meat, the researchers decided to explore their potential role. The experiments were not for the squeamish. Dr Melanie Beasley, a member of the team at Purdue University in Indiana, was formerly at the Forensic Anthropology Center, or Body Farm, at the University of Tennessee. There, researchers study donated human corpses that are left to decompose. The work helps forensic scientists hone their techniques, for example, to ascertain for how long people have been dead. Beasley measured heavy nitrogen in putrefying muscle and the maggots that infested the corpses. Heavy nitrogen rose slightly as muscle putrefied, but was far higher in the maggots. The same process would have occurred in carcasses the Neanderthals stored, Beasley said. The finding, reported in Science Advances, suggests that rather than consuming meat as ravenously as lions and other hypercarnivores, Neanderthals acquired high levels of heavy nitrogen by eating maggots, which themselves were enriched with heavy nitrogen. 'The only reason this is surprising is that it contradicts what we westerners think of as food,' said Karen Hardy, professor of prehistoric archaeology at the University of Glasgow. 'Elsewhere in the world, a very wide range of things are eaten, and maggots are a great source of protein, fat and essential amino acids.' 'It is a no brainer for Neanderthals,' she added. 'Put out a bit of meat, leave it for a few days then go back and harvest your maggots, its a very easy way to get good nutritious food.' 'How does it shift our thinking? The Neanderthals as top carnivores was nonsense, it was physiologically impossible. So this makes sense, but also explains these high nitrogen signals in a way that nothing else has done so clearly,' Hardy said.

Restore hair growth in just six WEEKS with the protein treatment that completely revives your strands: 'I'm so pleased'
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Daily Mail​

time2 days ago

  • Daily Mail​

Restore hair growth in just six WEEKS with the protein treatment that completely revives your strands: 'I'm so pleased'

Daily Mail journalists select and curate the products that feature on our site. If you make a purchase via links on this page we will earn commission - learn more Losing hair can feel like… well, a losing battle. Strands clog the drain, fill up your hairbrush, and appear practically everywhere you turn. It's frustrating, but it doesn't have to be a permanent situation thanks to the Calecim Professional Advanced Hair System. This six-week program is powered by stem cells and formulated to give your follicles a boost to support healthy regrowth — and it's so effective that one user noted 'LOTS of hair is growing back.' Calecim Professional Advanced Hair System Transform your look with this nourishing system formulated with cytokines, exosomes, and growth factors to support a healthier environment for new hair growth. Over six weeks, the treatment reinvigorates your follicles, signaling them to regenerate hair while promoting collagen formation to leave your scalp healthier. Buy here Shop The system is designed to spur new growth no matter what the cause of your hair loss, as it delivers the signal to your cells to begin regeneration Thin strands can develop for so many reasons, from stress and hormones to illness and aging. No matter what the reason you're experiencing it, this system can help. It's formulated to spur new growth and leave your hair thicker and fuller over the course of six weeks. The stem cell formula essentially reactivates your follicles, signaling to them that it's time to begin regenerating new strands. The difference between this and other treatments is that it truly gets to the 'root' of the problem. At its heart is PTT-6®, a stem cell-derived ingredient consisting of 3,000 proteins. Among those are cytokines, exosomes, and growth factors, all carefully formulated to communicate to your cells. This function is the Calecim difference — and it's what sets the product apart from any other hair loss treatment on the market. PTT-6 is noteworthy because it naturally revitalizes the dormant or quickly weakening follicles. Used regularly, people with hair loss have seen a dramatic improvement in both the look and feel of their hair. In fact, participants in a six-week trial experienced an impressive 24 percent increase in follicle cell growth, along with a reduction of 30x in inflammation. That latter factor is crucial, as it's often considered a key reason hair loss occurs in the first place. Using Calecim also resulted in other turnarounds, including a 14 percent boost in individual scalp hairs and a 16 percent boost in the thickness of the hair shaft. And it accomplished all of this without causing any side effects. The cocktail of proteins, growth factors, and exosomes works efficiently yet gently, stimulating growth and providing a healed environment for new hairs to form. The growth factors can have a wider anti-aging effect on the scalp, too, making this an especially important part of your journey back to thicker, fuller hair. It's known to support collagen synthesis, which can leave the skin more resilient and firm. Using the system is easy and almost like adding a rejuvenating spa treatment to your at-home routine. Simply apply half an ampoule twice a week (totaling one ampoule weekly) using the included derma stamper. The stamper is vital to the process — think of it as microneedling for your scalp. It creates the tiniest openings to stimulate blood flow and support new collagen. After six weeks, you can maintain your results using Calecim once weekly. Using half an ampoule each time, a single box will last for about three months. Users are thrilled with their results. 'Very noticeable hair growth and new hair shoots,' raved one satisfied customer. 'I'm so pleased.' Another said, 'The corners of my hairline have filled in nicely, along with thickening hair growth at the top of my scalp.' 'It has completely restored my hair with the first box!' exclaimed a third. 'You can no longer see through to my scalp and my hair looks a lot more even overall.' Why wait to give your strands — and confidence — a boost? The Calecim Professional Advanced Hair System is the breakthrough that will leave you with fuller hair by fall!

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