Scientists discover key to curing baldness may be in McDonald's fries

TOKYO - Would you like fries with your burger? How about a lush, full head of hair? A Japanese stem cell research team says they may have discovered a cure for baldness, and the key ingredient to their new process is a chemical that can be found in McDonald’s fries.

The ingredient in question is a chemical called dimethylpolysiloxane, and McDonald’s uses it in their fryer oil to prevent it from splashing. The scientists say their method creates something called “hair follicle germs,” in other words: the cells that grow hair.

The process the scientists developed in their experiment caused thousands of hair cells to begin growing simultaneously, creating conditions that would allow for effective hair regrowth. The cells are then transplanted into the skin and hair begins to grow.

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

The Japanese scientists say their method has already been successful in regrowing hair in lab mice, and they think it will work on humans too. Scientists are still a ways away from perfecting the treatment for humans, but they feel confident they’ll get there.