Humanlike 'Teeth' Have Been Grown in Mini Pigs (technologyreview.com) 16
Scientists have grown tooth-like structures using a combination of pig and human cells, marking a step toward potential alternatives to dental implants, researchers at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine reported.
The team, led by Pamela Yelick and Weibo Zhang, cultivated the structures by seeding cells into pig tooth scaffolds and implanting them in mini pigs' jaws. After two months, the bioengineered teeth developed hard tissue layers similar to natural teeth, including dentin and cementum. While not yet fully formed teeth, the structures could eventually lead to living replacements for lost teeth, addressing limitations of current titanium implants.
The team, led by Pamela Yelick and Weibo Zhang, cultivated the structures by seeding cells into pig tooth scaffolds and implanting them in mini pigs' jaws. After two months, the bioengineered teeth developed hard tissue layers similar to natural teeth, including dentin and cementum. While not yet fully formed teeth, the structures could eventually lead to living replacements for lost teeth, addressing limitations of current titanium implants.
ManBearPig Was Just A Joke, Guys (Score:1)
Come on now, just stop.
They should stop making fun of (Score:3, Funny)
...Eric Trump like that.
Why only 2 sets? (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: Why only 2 sets? (Score:2)
Animals that continually replace their teeth (sharks* for example) do so by growing replacements. And moving them into place as the adult teeth become old and damaged. My guess us that the ability of a tooth to self repair is incompatible with its hardness.
*Also law firms hiring young junior partners.
Re: (Score:2)
If sharks ability of a tooth to self repair is not incompatible with its hardness why is humans?
Re: (Score:2)
If sharks ability of a tooth to self repair is not incompatible with its hardness why is humans?
They don't self repair; They replace. Teeth are grown in the bone. Here's a picture of them exposed in the skull of a child: https://i.sstatic.net/35njF.jp... [sstatic.net]
Humans would need to continuously grow additional teeth and continuously replace existing teeth, which isn't very conducive to how we eat and live. But why don't we? Evolution.
However, the idea of using lab grown teeth implanted in our jaws could be a replacement for existing dental implants.
Re: Why only 2 sets? (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Depending on what you eat and how you use your teeth you might be toothless in your early 20s, as some neolithic fishermen in Japan were in a paper I was recently reading. They fished by holding leather straps in their teeth which wore away their teeth very quickly.
There are many other examples of people from harder times in history or pre-history living near food sources that were extremily hard on their teeth, so they would be lost quite early in life, in their teens even. Eventually, if they stayed in th
Re: Why only 2 sets? (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
There are people researching growth of a third set of teeth.
"Takahashi claims, should be further encouraged by the fact that we already come pre-loaded with the starting point. He said that his previous research shows that humans have the start of a third set of teeth already embedded in our mouths."
https://apicciano.commons.gc.c... [cuny.edu]
Re: (Score:2)
If they are so easy to do, and they overcharge, why don't you start a business that does it for less?
Next step (Score:2)
Grow it in place so there's no full-tooth implant procedure. In fact, maybe even work on having my existing teeth regenerate starting with what's already there.
It'd be nice to have the teeth of a 20-something again, with full biting surfaces and thick enamel.
I'd Feel Guilty (Score:2)
–eating bacon with these teeth.