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Study Claims Chemical in McDonald's Fries May Cure Baldness

"This simple method is very robust and promising. We hope that this technique will improve human hair regenerative therapy to treat hair loss."

(CBS L.A.) — Customers at McDonald’s may want to ask for a side of hair gel with their meal, according to the claims of a new study in Japan. Scientists say that a chemical used in the cooking of the fast food chain’s french fries may hold the cure for baldness.

Researchers at Yokohama National University found that the chemical dimethylpolysiloxane – found in silicone and added to cooking oil as an anti-foaming agent – helped to mass produce hair follicles which grew new hair after being placed into mice. According to the findings, published in the journal Biomaterials, Japanese scientists were able to generate nearly 5,000 “hair follicle germs” (HFG) which the team said is one of the biggest obstacles in creating hair regenerative medicine.

“We used oxygen-permeable dimethylpolysiloxane at the bottom of culture vessel, and it worked very well,” Professor Junji Fukuda said in a press release. Working with the modified french fry-cooking ingredient, researchers created “HFG chips” which carried batches of the new follicles and implanted them into the mice. The chips, transplanted into the backs and scalps of the subjects, reportedly began to grow new black hair from each patch.

“This simple method is very robust and promising. We hope that this technique will improve human hair regenerative therapy to treat hair loss,” Fukuda added.

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