In a new study published in Nature Genetics researchers have found 2 proteins that enable skin cells to renew themselves.

The skin has stem cells that produce cells that eventually become part of the skin itself or the hair on the skin. It is by this process that the skin can repair itself after a cut or infection. These stem cells can also make new stem cells in a complicated sequence of turning on and off proteins. In this latest discovery, two key proteins in this sequence have been identified. And these proteins are not just in human skin cells. A similar process goes on in worms.

The discovery of these proteins potentially opens up more possibilities for regenerating skin for burn victims and others, but also for growing hair. Learn more about skin anatomy and, specifically, the epidermis.

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