TedTest

From the Ted Talk by Sarthak Sinha: Why do some people go bald?

Unscramble the Blue Letters

What do Charles Darwin, Michael jodarn, and Yoda have in common? They, like many other historical and fictive individuals, are bald, in some cases by their own choice. For centuries, a shining dome has been a symbol of intelligence, but despite this, many balding people still wish their hair would return. Scientists have long peendrod, "Why do some people lose their hair, and how can we bring it back?" The full-headed among us have about 100,000 to 150,000 hairs on our scalps, and scientists have dveoecirsd two things about this dense thicekt. Firstly, the sprouting hair we see is mostly made up of keratin, the protein leftover from dead cells that are forced upwards as new clles grow beneath them. Secondly, the structures that drive hair growth are called hair follicles, a network of complex organs that forms before we're born, and gwors hair in an everlasting cycle. This cycle has three main phases. The first is anagen, the growth phase, which up to 90% of your hair follicles are experiencing right now, cniausg them to push up hair at a rate of one cieetntemr per month. Anagen can last for two to seven years, depending on your genes. After this productive period, signals within the skin instruct some follicles to enter a new phase known as catagen, or the regressing stage, causing hair follicles to shrink to a fraction of their original length. caategn lasts for about two to three wkees and cuts blood supply to the follicle, ctaeinrg a club hair, manieng it's ready to be shed. Finally, hairs enter telogen, the resting phase, which lasts for ten to twelve weeks, and affects about 5-15% of your scalp follicles. During tlegeon, up to 200 club hairs can be shed in a day, which is quite nomral. Then, the growth cycle begins anew. But not all heads are hraiy, and, in fact, some of them grow increasingly phacty over time in resnsope to bodily changes. 95% of baldness in men can be ateittbrud to male pattern baldness. Baldness is inherited, and in people with this cdiniootn, follicles become incredibly sensitive to the effects of dhttisrsoeoonetdrye, a hormonal pdrocut made from testosterone. DHT causes shrinkage in these overly sensitive follicles, making hair shretor and weisipr. But loss isn't sudden. It happens gradually, along a metric known as the Norwood Scale, which debrisces the severity of hair loss. First, hair rdecees along the temepls, then hair on the crown begins to thin in a circular pattern. At the highest rating on the scale, these bdilang aaers meet and epnxad dramatically, eventually levnaig only a ring of sparse hair around the temples and the back of the head. Genetics isn't all that dvries hair loss. Long periods of stress can release signals that shock follicles and force them into the resting phase prematurely. Some women experience this after childbirth. folilelcs might also lose the abiilty to go into agnaen, the growth phase. People going through cthaoermehpy treatment temporarily experience this. But while balding may look permanent, scientific investigation has revealed the opposite. Below the skin's surface, the roots that give rise to our hair actually remain alive. Using this knowledge, scientists have developed drugs that shorten the resting phase, and fcroe follicles into anagen. Other dgrus combat male pattern baldness by blocking the cnivroeson of testosterone to DHT so that it doesn't affect those sensitive follicles. Stem cells also play a role in regulating the grtowh cycle, and so scientists are investigating whether they can manipulate the attiicvy of these cells to eoaungrce follicles to start producing hair again. And in the meantime, while sieticnsts hone their hair-reviving methods, anyone going bald, or considering baldness, can remember that they're in great company.

Open Cloze

What do Charles Darwin, Michael ______, and Yoda have in common? They, like many other historical and fictive individuals, are bald, in some cases by their own choice. For centuries, a shining dome has been a symbol of intelligence, but despite this, many balding people still wish their hair would return. Scientists have long ________, "Why do some people lose their hair, and how can we bring it back?" The full-headed among us have about 100,000 to 150,000 hairs on our scalps, and scientists have __________ two things about this dense _______. Firstly, the sprouting hair we see is mostly made up of keratin, the protein leftover from dead cells that are forced upwards as new _____ grow beneath them. Secondly, the structures that drive hair growth are called hair follicles, a network of complex organs that forms before we're born, and _____ hair in an everlasting cycle. This cycle has three main phases. The first is anagen, the growth phase, which up to 90% of your hair follicles are experiencing right now, _______ them to push up hair at a rate of one __________ per month. Anagen can last for two to seven years, depending on your genes. After this productive period, signals within the skin instruct some follicles to enter a new phase known as catagen, or the regressing stage, causing hair follicles to shrink to a fraction of their original length. _______ lasts for about two to three _____ and cuts blood supply to the follicle, ________ a club hair, _______ it's ready to be shed. Finally, hairs enter telogen, the resting phase, which lasts for ten to twelve weeks, and affects about 5-15% of your scalp follicles. During _______, up to 200 club hairs can be shed in a day, which is quite ______. Then, the growth cycle begins anew. But not all heads are _____, and, in fact, some of them grow increasingly ______ over time in ________ to bodily changes. 95% of baldness in men can be __________ to male pattern baldness. Baldness is inherited, and in people with this _________, follicles become incredibly sensitive to the effects of ___________________, a hormonal _______ made from testosterone. DHT causes shrinkage in these overly sensitive follicles, making hair _______ and _______. But loss isn't sudden. It happens gradually, along a metric known as the Norwood Scale, which _________ the severity of hair loss. First, hair _______ along the _______, then hair on the crown begins to thin in a circular pattern. At the highest rating on the scale, these _______ _____ meet and ______ dramatically, eventually _______ only a ring of sparse hair around the temples and the back of the head. Genetics isn't all that ______ hair loss. Long periods of stress can release signals that shock follicles and force them into the resting phase prematurely. Some women experience this after childbirth. _________ might also lose the _______ to go into ______, the growth phase. People going through ____________ treatment temporarily experience this. But while balding may look permanent, scientific investigation has revealed the opposite. Below the skin's surface, the roots that give rise to our hair actually remain alive. Using this knowledge, scientists have developed drugs that shorten the resting phase, and _____ follicles into anagen. Other _____ combat male pattern baldness by blocking the __________ of testosterone to DHT so that it doesn't affect those sensitive follicles. Stem cells also play a role in regulating the ______ cycle, and so scientists are investigating whether they can manipulate the ________ of these cells to _________ follicles to start producing hair again. And in the meantime, while __________ hone their hair-reviving methods, anyone going bald, or considering baldness, can remember that they're in great company.

Solution

force
telogen
cells
ability
dihydrotestosterone
conversion
condition
balding
jordan
wispier
activity
weeks
temples
patchy
normal
leaving
attributed
discovered
centimeter
grows
meaning
areas
response
drugs
recedes
scientists
drives
causing
shorter
growth
expand
creating
anagen
follicles
pondered
chemotherapy
hairy
catagen
encourage
product
thicket
describes

Original Text

What do Charles Darwin, Michael Jordan, and Yoda have in common? They, like many other historical and fictive individuals, are bald, in some cases by their own choice. For centuries, a shining dome has been a symbol of intelligence, but despite this, many balding people still wish their hair would return. Scientists have long pondered, "Why do some people lose their hair, and how can we bring it back?" The full-headed among us have about 100,000 to 150,000 hairs on our scalps, and scientists have discovered two things about this dense thicket. Firstly, the sprouting hair we see is mostly made up of keratin, the protein leftover from dead cells that are forced upwards as new cells grow beneath them. Secondly, the structures that drive hair growth are called hair follicles, a network of complex organs that forms before we're born, and grows hair in an everlasting cycle. This cycle has three main phases. The first is anagen, the growth phase, which up to 90% of your hair follicles are experiencing right now, causing them to push up hair at a rate of one centimeter per month. Anagen can last for two to seven years, depending on your genes. After this productive period, signals within the skin instruct some follicles to enter a new phase known as catagen, or the regressing stage, causing hair follicles to shrink to a fraction of their original length. Catagen lasts for about two to three weeks and cuts blood supply to the follicle, creating a club hair, meaning it's ready to be shed. Finally, hairs enter telogen, the resting phase, which lasts for ten to twelve weeks, and affects about 5-15% of your scalp follicles. During telogen, up to 200 club hairs can be shed in a day, which is quite normal. Then, the growth cycle begins anew. But not all heads are hairy, and, in fact, some of them grow increasingly patchy over time in response to bodily changes. 95% of baldness in men can be attributed to male pattern baldness. Baldness is inherited, and in people with this condition, follicles become incredibly sensitive to the effects of dihydrotestosterone, a hormonal product made from testosterone. DHT causes shrinkage in these overly sensitive follicles, making hair shorter and wispier. But loss isn't sudden. It happens gradually, along a metric known as the Norwood Scale, which describes the severity of hair loss. First, hair recedes along the temples, then hair on the crown begins to thin in a circular pattern. At the highest rating on the scale, these balding areas meet and expand dramatically, eventually leaving only a ring of sparse hair around the temples and the back of the head. Genetics isn't all that drives hair loss. Long periods of stress can release signals that shock follicles and force them into the resting phase prematurely. Some women experience this after childbirth. Follicles might also lose the ability to go into anagen, the growth phase. People going through chemotherapy treatment temporarily experience this. But while balding may look permanent, scientific investigation has revealed the opposite. Below the skin's surface, the roots that give rise to our hair actually remain alive. Using this knowledge, scientists have developed drugs that shorten the resting phase, and force follicles into anagen. Other drugs combat male pattern baldness by blocking the conversion of testosterone to DHT so that it doesn't affect those sensitive follicles. Stem cells also play a role in regulating the growth cycle, and so scientists are investigating whether they can manipulate the activity of these cells to encourage follicles to start producing hair again. And in the meantime, while scientists hone their hair-reviving methods, anyone going bald, or considering baldness, can remember that they're in great company.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations

ngrams of length 2

collocation	frequency
hair follicles	2
male pattern	2
pattern baldness	2
hair loss	2

ngrams of length 3

collocation	frequency
male pattern baldness	2

Important Words

ability
activity
affect
affects
alive
anagen
anew
areas
attributed
bald
balding
baldness
begins
beneath
blocking
blood
bodily
born
bring
called
cases
catagen
causing
cells
centimeter
centuries
charles
chemotherapy
childbirth
choice
circular
club
combat
common
company
complex
condition
conversion
creating
crown
cuts
cycle
darwin
day
dead
dense
depending
describes
developed
dht
dihydrotestosterone
discovered
dome
dramatically
drive
drives
drugs
effects
encourage
enter
eventually
everlasting
expand
experience
experiencing
fact
fictive
finally
firstly
follicle
follicles
force
forced
forms
fraction
genes
genetics
give
gradually
great
grow
grows
growth
hair
hairs
hairy
head
heads
highest
historical
hone
hormonal
increasingly
incredibly
individuals
inherited
instruct
intelligence
investigating
investigation
jordan
keratin
knowledge
lasts
leaving
leftover
length
long
lose
loss
main
making
male
manipulate
meaning
meet
men
methods
metric
michael
month
network
normal
norwood
organs
original
overly
patchy
pattern
people
period
periods
permanent
phase
phases
play
pondered
prematurely
producing
product
productive
protein
push
rate
rating
ready
recedes
regressing
regulating
release
remain
remember
response
resting
return
revealed
ring
rise
role
roots
scale
scalp
scalps
scientific
scientists
sensitive
severity
shed
shining
shock
shorten
shorter
shrink
shrinkage
signals
skin
sparse
sprouting
stage
start
stem
stress
structures
sudden
supply
surface
symbol
telogen
temples
temporarily
ten
testosterone
thicket
thin
time
treatment
twelve
weeks
wispier
women
years
yoda