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Ancient Teeth Bacteria Record Disease Evolution

An anonymous reader writes "DNA preserved in calcified bacteria on the teeth of ancient human skeletons has shed light on the health consequences of the evolving diet and behavior from the Stone Age to the modern day. The ancient genetic record reveals the negative changes in oral bacteria brought about by the dietary shifts as humans became farmers, and later with the introduction of food manufacturing in the Industrial Revolution."

3 of 97 comments (clear)

  1. Re:humans by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    We eat sugar and complex carbs more than most animals and these tend to cause tooth decay. When you're a wolf who only eats protein it isn't a problem.

  2. Re:humans by sFurbo · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What sibling post said about sugar, plus we stopped eating really coarse food. Eating hard roots will scrub bacterial plaque off your teeth. When we stopped eating as many raw, hard roots, we had to substitute that function with brushing, but it seems to be less efficient. Additionally, our jaws are far too short for the number for teeth we have, thus the problems of wisdom teeth, which also pushes the other teeth together, making the room between them harder to clean.

  3. "anonymous reader" = blog spammer by 1u3hr · · Score: 5, Informative
    The source, not linked in TFA, is Adelaide University: http://www.adelaide.edu.au/news/news59301.html

    Link to the source, not some asshole plagiarising it to get ad hits.