Indeed, hair can be a statement of freedom and it informs our sense of self. Conversely, baldness (a condition called alopecia) can be considered an attack on the self, not only in a psychological sense, but also in a literal sense through autoimmunity, in which immune cells that usually ignore the body’s own tissues instead damage organs and cause problems such as hair loss. Writing in Nature, Cui et al.1 provide insights into autoimmune hair loss from their studies of mice.
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription Receive 51 print issues and online access Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-03258-x Cui, J. et al. Nature 658, 1310–1318 (2026). Pathol. 22, 97–114 (1995).
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