The study’s lead investigator, Dr Qi Sun, a postdoctoral fellow at NYU Langone Health, said: “Our study adds to our basic understanding of how melanocyte stem cells work to colour hair.
“The newfound mechanisms raise the possibility that the same fixed-positioning of melanocyte stem cells may exist in humans.
“If so, it presents a potential pathway for reversing or preventing the greying of human hair by helping jammed cells to move again between developing hair follicle compartments.”
Another researcher, Dr Mayumi Ito, compared hair’s ability to retain its colour to a chameleon-like function.
