Shean Gannon, age 12, of Charleston, West Va., for his question:

WHY DO MEN GO BALD AND NOT WOMEN?

Baldness is the lack of hair on the head. There may be partial baldness which is simply a thinning of the hair, or area baldness where there is an absence of hair in a section of the head that is normally covered by hair.

We don't know the exact causes of baldness, but scientists agree that it could be caused by heredity, aging, infection or hormone imbalance. Inheritance is definitely the most common cause and mother nature has arranged it so that more men are affected than women.

While women of a bald family are somewhat liable to baldness, and many develop thinning hair, most are more likely to retain their hair than are the men. But they pass on to their sons the inherited tendency toward baldness.