Teeth Grown In Lab
I wake in the middle of most nights with a sharp pain in my mouth, which I tell myself is the result of stress-related jaw grinding rather than some sort of deeper dental issue that I am too much of a frightened child to actually go see a professional about. (Dental work freaks me out!) So you think I'd be greeting this new miracle of Science with unalloyed joy.
For the first time, scientists from the Tokyo University of Science have grown fully formed teeth from stem cells. The artificial teeth that looked like the real thing, were sensitive to pain and could chew food. Though the breakthrough was made on mice, it could pave the way for those who lose teeth to decay or injury to be able to grow' replacements.
And you know, yeah, fine, it's a little creepy and whatever, but I am not particularly attached to the set I've got now: If they could knock them all out and put in a whole new model I'd be the first one to sign up for the procedure. (I assume they'd put me under for that, which, you know, bonus.) But hold up a second: "sensitive to pain"? WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU WANT THAT? If you are making a new breed of super-teeth, can't you give us something that is resistant to pain? (And cigarette stains?) Science, some times I feel like I don't understand you at all.
Photo by Amanda Slater
"The artificial teeth that looked like the real thing, were sensitive to pain and could chew food"
Before I read the whole mouse part, I thought they had created some sort of stand-alone and sentient (and perhaps potentially deadly?) set of super teeth. Kind of like the chattering dentures you see in cartoons, but….this time it's for real.
@armagnacforbreakfast
I might have just developed a hernia trying to hold in my laughter while reading this.
This is awesome. I feel like my original teeth have about 20 years left, anyway, so if they're predicting that this will be in humans in 10 years, another 10 years for this to trickle down to my level of brokeness sounds about right.
Don't put ice in your drink, but cower in pants-wetting fear at the thought of going to the dentist. Got it.
@boyofdestiny Id rather shut my hand in a car door than go to the dentist.
@C_Webb Am I the only sicky that likes the dentist? I just got fitted for a crown yesterday. It was fun!
@boyofdestiny Ha! If I knew how to do such things, I'd link to the magnificent Steve Martin/Bill Murray scene in Little Shop of Horrors. Find it immediately if you don't know what I'm talking about.
@boyofdestiny i like the dentist too! there's nothing like that shiny teeth feelin.
@C_Webb Such a good scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_t8xp3ojpdk
@boyofdestiny : My dentist and I share a love of horror movies, so she always has something to talk about while she's working on me. Now that I type this, I'm suddenly concerned this is not a great thing.
@boyofdestiny I love going to the dentist. That's like 40 minutes where I don't have to do anything. Just lie (lay?) back and let someone else do all the work.
@Kevin I feel that way about getting my eyebrows waxed.
Re: the dentist … it's not the pain (I've done natural childbirth twice). It's the sensations (scrape, scrape) and the NOISE.
What about the guy whose wife cut off and garbage disposaled his penis? Come on science, let's do him a solid!
photo reply of Jaws (no not the shark you ponce) dot png
For the love of Mike, will you just get the damn mouthguard already? It's been almost two years to the day!