A CURE for baldness is on the horizon after scientists grew hair on mice using human stem cells.
The therapy, in effect, cured baldness since the cells were 100 per cent human, experts claimed.
The hair sprouted on skin grown in a lab and transplanted on to mice.
It appeared on more than half the grafts.
Dermatologists say the US study could lead to the creation of a limitless supply of hair follicles which can be transplanted to bald heads.
The therapy also offers hope for burns victims and those with alopecia and other skin diseases.
The human style strands that measure 2 to 5 millimetres in length are the closest match to natural hair ever created.
Professor Karl Koehler, at Harvard Medical School in Boston, said: “The skin is a multil-layered organ, equipped with follicles and glands critical for regulating body temperature and the retention of bodily fluids.”
These help protect the body against illness and injury as well as controlling the sensation of touch and pain.
The skin buds could also lead to the development of better drugs for diseases – including cancer.
Last year another US team grew hair using a combination of cells from mice and humans.
Footballers Wayne Rooney and Ryan Giggs are believed to have forked out thousands of pounds to boost their thinning hair.