A cellular automation model predicts how stem cells in a population of hair follicles regenerate

Your hair or lack of hair is the result of a lifelong tug of war between activators and inhibitors to calm or wake up stem cells in every single hair follicle on your body, according to Cheng Ming Chuong and his team at the University of Southern California (USC) plus collaborators elsewhere. They have built a predictive model of hair regeneration in rabbits, mice, and humans in which rules govern regeneration in each hair follicle individually and in all hair follicles collectively.

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