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Neandertals Ate Their Veggies, Tooth Study ShowsSara Goudarzi for National Geographic NewsApril 28, 2008 Tiny bits of plant material found in the teeth of a Neandertal skeleton unearthed in Iraq provide the first direct evidence that the human ancestors ate vegetation, researchers say. Little is known about diet of Neandertals (also spelled Neanderthals), although it's widely assumed that they ate more than just meat. Much of what is known about their eating habits has come from indirect evidence, such as animal remains found at Neandertal sites and chemical signatures called isotopes detected in their teeth. The new hard evidence is...

Experimental chewy mint beats tooth decay 09th April 2008 A new chewable mint looks set to solve the worldwide problem of tooth decay. BasicMints is an experimental fluoride-free treatment designed to mimic a component in human saliva that neutralises acids in the mouth that can erode tooth enamel. US researchers tested the product on 200 children – aged between 10-and-a-half and 11 – over a year. The results show that children who were administered BasicMints had 62% fewer cavities in their molars when the year was up, compared to children in the placebo group. The research team, from New York's...

Tooth Scan Reveals Neanderthal Mobility By ELENA BECATOROS, Associated Press Writer A 40,000-year-old tooth is seen in this undated hand out photo released by Greek Culture Ministry. Analysis of the tooth uncovered in southern Greece indicates for the first time that Neanderthals may have traveled more widely than previously thought, paleontologists announced on Friday, Feb. 8, 2008. (AP Photo/Greek Culture Ministry)(AP) -- Analysis of a 40,000-year-old tooth found in southern Greece suggests Neanderthals were more mobile than once thought, paleontologists said Friday. Analysis of the tooth - part of the first and only Neanderthal remains found in Greece - showed...

Bulgarian Paleontologists Stumble upon Prehistoric Tooth 28 November 2007, Wednesday A team of scientists with Bulgaria's Natural History Museum have unearthed a tooth dated back to the Late Miocene, the head of the fossil and recent Mammalia museum department Dr. Nikolay Spasov announced on Wednesday. The tooth is some seven million years old and belonged to a hominid.A team of archaeologists, paleontologists, paleo-anthropologists and biologists from the museum spent the last ten years in researching the flora, the fauna and the overall nature setting in Bulgaria from the time of the late Neogene (10,7 - 5,3 million years BC). The...

Europe's first early human colonizers were from Asia, not Africa, a new analysis of more than 5,000 ancient teeth suggests. Researchers had traditionally assumed that Europe was settled in waves starting around two million years ago, as our ancient ancestors—collectively known as hominids—came over from Africa. But the shapes of teeth from a number of hominid species suggest that arrivals from Asia played a greater role in colonizing Europe than hominids direct from Africa. These Asian hominids may have originally come from Africa, the scientists note, but had evolved independently for some time. (Related: "Did Early Humans First Arise in...

Fossil Tooth Belonged to Earliest Western European, Experts Say James Owen for National Geographic News July 2, 2007 A fossil tooth discovered last week in Spain belonged to the oldest known western European, scientists have announced. The early-human molar was discovered last Wednesday at the Sierra Atapuerca archaeological site in the Burgos Province of northern Spain. Caves at the site, which lies about 15 miles (25 kilometers) east of the provincial capital of Burgos, have previously yielded other prehistoric human remains (map of Spain). Early human fossils found at the nearby Gran Dolina site in 1994 indicated that humans had...

Source: New York University Date: March 16, 2007 Tooth Decay Analysis Supports 'Out Of Africa' Theory Of Human Evolution Science Daily — A New York University College of Dentistry (NYUCD) research team has found the first oral bacterial evidence supporting the dispersal of modern Homo sapiens out of Africa to Asia. The team, led by Page Caufield, a professor of cariology and comprehensive care at NYUCD, discovered that Streptoccocus mutans, a bacterium associated with dental caries, has evolved along with its human hosts in a clear line that can be traced back to a single common ancestor who lived in...

Epileptic seizures sparked by tooth brushing 09:00 06 March 2007 NewScientist.com news service Rachel Nowak “Brushing your teeth is very rhythmic. Our idea is that it causes a rhythmic over-activity in the brain, which feeds back on itself – similar to the effect of strobe lighting on people with photosensitive epilepsy,” says neurologist Wendyl D’Souza of St Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne, Australia, one of the team reporting the cases. Epilepsy occurs when nerve cells in an area of the brain fire more rapidly than usual and in synchrony with one another. This causes seizures that range from “grand mal” seizures...

WASHINGTON - Twelve-year-old Deamonte Driver died of a toothache Sunday. A routine, $80 tooth extraction might have saved him. If his mother had been insured. If his family had not lost its Medicaid. If Medicaid dentists weren't so hard to find. If his mother hadn't been focused on getting a dentist for his brother, who had six rotted teeth. By the time Deamonte's own aching tooth got any attention, the bacteria from the abscess had spread to his brain, doctors said. After two operations and more than six weeks of hospital care, the Prince George's County boy died. Deamonte's death...

Stem cells from may help scientists grow parts of teeth you may need in the future. Researchers from University of Southern California School of Dentistry have regenerated tooth roots and ligaments to restore tooth function in pigs. They believe this breakthrough looks very promising to use in people. Scientists used stem cells harvested from the extracted wisdom teeth of 18-to 20-year-olds to create enough root and ligament structure to support the restoration of a crown in their pig model. The restoration was similar to the original tooth in function and strength. The technique uses stem cells harvested from the root...

A team of researchers has succeeded in engineering stem cells taken from tooth germ to quickly develop into liver or bone tissue, the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology's Research Institute (AIST) for Cell Engineering said. A joint team of scientists from the institute and Osaka University succeeded in repairing damaged liver and bones in rats using stem cells taken from wisdom tooth germ. The finding raises hopes of developing regenerative medicine using wisdom teeth germ taken from people during orthodontic treatments. Tooth germ disappears as a tooth is formed, but that of a wisdom tooth stays in...

Hockey players, rejoice! A team of University of Alberta researchers has created technology to regrow teeth—the first time scientists have been able to reform human dental tissue. Using low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS), Dr. Tarak El-Bialy from the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry and Dr. Jie Chen and Dr. Ying Tsui from the Faculty of Engineering have created a miniaturized system-on-a-chip that offers a non-invasive and novel way to stimulate jaw growth and dental tissue healing. “It’s very exciting because we have shown the results and actually have something you can touch and feel that will impact the health of...

I know I've been here a while, but just thought of asking: can I search via "keyword"? The search I've noticed is by "article title"...anyone? rd

The following is a TRUE story. My mother-in-law lived in a small (population <550) town. Most people worked either in pulp wood industry or the local egg packing plant, so everybody knew everybody else in town. A man who worked with my mother-in-law at the egg plant had bad teeth and one was causing him much pain. He went around for days suffering in pain from his bad tooth. Finally, his co-workers told him to get it pulled or shut the heck up and stay home. It turns out that he was actually AFRAID to go to the dentist, even...

ROCHDALE, England, May 2 — "I snapped it out myself," said William Kelly, 43, describing his most recent dental procedure, the autoextraction of one of his upper teeth. Now it is a jagged black stump, and the pain gnawing at Mr. Kelly's mouth has transferred itself to a different tooth, mottled and rickety, on the other side of his mouth. "I'm in the middle of pulling that one out, too," he said. It is easy to be mean about British teeth. Mike Myers's mouth is a joke in itself in the "Austin Powers" movies. In a "Simpsons" episode, dentalphobic children...

That's One Weird Tooth And other bulletins on the elusive narwhal Susan Milius What Martin Nweeia noticed first when he encountered narwhals, he says, was the sound. In May 2000, as spring was just reaching Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic, a famed local hunter took Nweeia out on the ice searching the open water for those tusk-bearing, high-Arctic whales. "I was sitting on a bucket out on the ice doing polar bear watch," he says. At that time of year, daylight lasts around the clock, and at 3 a.m., the gray sky had orange streaks. "The water was like...

Today, Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) researcher Martin Nweeia, DMD, DDS, answers a marine science question that has eluded the scientific community for hundreds of years: why does the narwhal, or “unicorn,” whale have an 8-foot-long tooth emerging from its head, and what is its function? Nweeia, a clinical instructor in restorative dentistry and biomaterials sciences at HSDM, will be presenting his conclusions at the 16th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals in San Diego. The narwhal has a tooth, or tusk, which emerges from the left side of the upper jaw and is an evolutionary mystery...

Loch Ness Monster Finally Identified Forensic Artist and private investigator William McDonald, finally identifies what Loch Ness Monster may be. (PRWEB) April 7, 2005 -- After nearly 1,500 years of conjecture, it appears the Loch Ness Monster may finally be identified. According to American Forensic Artist and private investigator William McDonald, the famous lake monster known as “Nessie” is neither a plesiosaur or prehistoric reptile, but a real, predatory species of water animal possessing the ability to hunt on land. In the winter months of 2004, McDonald photographed tracks left by a large animal on a mud-covered Loch Ness shoreline...

The following is a true account, emailed to me by an Army dentist friend of mine. She included pictures, but I am not sure that they would want them put up here, so I am not including that part of this letter. Christmas Eve morning a soldier came into the clinic at the Ibn Sina Hospital in downtown Baghdad covered in his own blood. He recounted an incredible story. Early Christmas Eve morning, two squads were assigned to sweep and clear two adjacent homes where Iraq terrorists were holed-up. The patient, SGT C, was leading one of those assault squads....

From one of the medical email lists I subscribe to: a pointed reminder from Dr. AnnaLee Kruyer, DDS, regarding the importance of good dental hygiene: The most miraculous event I witnessed showed how a tooth saved a sergeant's life! Christmas Eve morning a soldier came into our clinic at the Ibn Sina Hospital in downtown Baghdad covered in his own blood. He recounted an incredible story. Early Christmas Eve morning, two squads were assigned to sweep and clear two adjacent homes where Iraq terrorists were holed-up. The patient, SGT C, was leading one of those assault squads. The other squad...

A rare tooth-in-eye operation has enabled a Thai teenager to see again after six years of blindness, news reports said yesterday. Luck Pewnual, 19, now reads books and watches football on television after surgeons in Singapore completed a two-part operation implanting parts of a canine tooth into his right eye. His vision has improved since the second stage was performed in June, well enough for him to legally drive a car. Several patients from Malaysia, the Philippines and Mauritius in addition to Singaporeans have been lined up for the procedure. Pewnual's case is believed to be the first carried out...

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A woman who says she found a human tooth in a can of Campbell's soup has filed a lawsuit against the company. Tina Keeney, of West Jordan, had just heated up a can of chicken noodle soup and given some of it to her 13-month-old son. While she was cleaning up, she noticed the boy had a hard, white object in his hand. "It's gross enough as it is to find something in your food anyway, but to have it be a human tooth that was in someone else's mouth is just sickening," Keeney said....

A mother has described her anger at discovering her son had crunched into a rotten tooth while eating popcorn. Kieran Adam, from Cove, near Aberdeen, was eating a mouthful when he bit down on something hard. Kieran, 12, was horrified to find a decaying tooth with the remains of the roots attached. Woolworths Big W, where the snack had been bought, said the incident was being investigated and environmental health officials are also to investigate the find. Schoolboy Kieran was treated to the sweet popcorn from independent food franchise The Candy Bar in the city's beachfront Woolworths Big W store...

Elvis' Tooth For Sale On EBay FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- It's a lucky day for anyone who's ever wanted to own a piece of Elvis Presley. A tooth from the mouth of The King himself is being auctioned on eBay. The tooth was in the possession of Presley's former fiancee, Linda Thompson, until it went to the Elvis Presley Museum. The museum later sold the tooth. The auction also includes a lock of Presley's hair that was saved from his haircut upon joining the military and a gold record for "Love Me Tender." The collection's curator said he's been...

Rugby player discovers rival's tooth in his arm one month after match A rugby league player is out for the rest of the season after discovering he has the tooth of a rival player stuck in his arm Jamie Ainscough, who plays for Wigan Warriors, had no idea he had one of Martin Gleeson's teeth in his arm after he tackled the Saints player in a match in July. He only found out a month later when his arm became swollen. Ainscough now requires an operation because the bone has been infected by the tooth.

Soon you could be swapping your mobile phone for a molar phone. Royal College of Art students in London have developed a phone that fits inside a tooth. The concept device picks up signals with a radio receiver and uses a tiny vibrating plate to convey them as sound along the jawbone to a person's ear. The designers said the mini-molar phone could be implanted in a tooth during routine dental surgery. The prototype phone is the work of graduates James Auger and Jimmy Loizeau and forms part of the Royal College of Art's annual summer exhibition. Known as The...

Man takes a 'bite' out of chicken nugget April 30, 2002 8:30 CDT A gentleman in Norway sat down to eat his lunch and found his chicken nuggets to be a bit crunchier than he anticipated. After a mouthful without incident, he found himself biting on something hard and unrelenting. Upon isolating the offending object in his mouth, he found himself staring at, of all things, a tooth. Thinking at first that he had chipped one of his own teeth, he gingerly felt around and took inventory. To his relief, all his teeth seemed to be intact. To his increasing...