The groundbreaking National Taiwan University (NTU) study, which uncovered a pathway to regrow hair in mice in 20 days by stimulating the skin’s fat cells, has gone viral, with a social media post about the research reaching around 19 million views in 12 days.
Published on Oct. 22 in the journal Cell Metabolism, the study revealed that skin injury starts a chain reaction: immune cells called macrophages signal the fat cells under the skin to release free fatty acids, which then act as fuel to reprogram the metabolism of dormant stem cells and trigger them to grow new hair.
In their mouse experiments, the researchers used controlled skin injuries (such as mild irritation or burns) to jumpstart hair growth. They discovered that hair stem cells were activated by Day 7 post-injury, new hair became visibly apparent by Day 10, and the mice achieved full hair regrowth within 20 days.
Photo courtesy of the National Taiwan University research team
The researchers also proved that topical treatment of monounsaturated fatty acids onto uninjured mouse skin was enough to successfully grow new hair because it directly turned on the sleeping hair stem cells.
A post by NEXTA, a Belarusian media outlet, on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) on Oct. 25 contributed to the viral spread of the study, garnering over 19 million views as of Wednesday and prompting local media in Taiwan to follow the story over the past days.
Responding to a post about the research on a Facebook page on Oct. 26, Lin Sung-jan (林頌然), lead contact person for the study, said that "the regenerative capacity of the skin is a stunning testament to the delicate complexity of life."
"We initiated this study based on clinical observations that skin irritation or sustained stimulation (such as the itching under a cast for a broken bone) causes the affected area to become noticeably hairier," Lin, who is an attending physician at NTU hospital and chair and distinguished professor of NTU’s Department of Biomedical Engineering, said in the comment.
These findings have not yet been validated in human skin, the NTU team noted.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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