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The Forum: Hair, Fur and Cilia

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02/08/2014

Hair, Fur and Cilia

BBC Radio 4 - The Forum, Hair, Fur and Cilia

Bridget Kendall and her guests explore the slender filaments that are essential to life.

Bridget Kendall uncovers the secrets of hair, fur and cilia, with geneticist Philip Beales, hair loss researcher Ralf Paus and artist Adeline de Monseignat.

Hair has always held us captive: a symbol of strength and vitality, or of sexual attraction and youth. But what are its molecular secrets? And what are we learning about those other mysterious filaments, the hair-like cilia strands attached to almost every living cell?
Bridget Kendall brings together three people whose work explores why these slender threads are essential to life. The medical geneticist Philip Beales explains why cilia disorders can affect memory and learning, Professor Ralf Paus, a leading hair loss researcher, reveals fresh insights into the role of neurohormones in promoting hair growth, and the artist Adeline de Monseignat shows her beautiful but disturbing sculptures, which suggest hair and fur aren't really a stack of dead cells, but somehow still alive.

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