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Scientists Grow Replacement Human Teeth In Mouse Kidneys

Posted by samzenpus on from the does-this-taste-funny-to-you? dept.

sciencehabit writes "When an adult loses a tooth, there's no hope of growing a new one—unless you've got a mouse kidney handy. In a new study, researchers injected human gum tissue extracted during oral surgery into the molars of fetal mice. After giving the cells a week to get used to each other, the scientists implanted the chimeric concoction into the protective tissue surrounding the kidneys of living mice. There, 20% of the cells developed into objects recognizable as teeth, complete with the root structures missing from artificial tooth implants. The next step is to transplant these so-called 'bio-teeth' back into human mouths and see if they grow into something that we can chew on—or rather, with."

4 of 117 comments (clear)

  1. They've got this backwards. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    They would find it much more lucrative if they could figure out a way to grow replacement KIDNEYS.

    1. Re:They've got this backwards. by dietdew7 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      We already grow replacement kidneys in the bodies of third world humans.

  2. Re:Grow it in your ovary. by zifferent · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Warning! Do not. I repeat do not do a Google Image search on "Dermoid Cyst" There is not enough brain bleach in the universe.

    --
    cat sig > /dev/null
  3. How do rat's pass that? by kimgkimg · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Ouch, talk about a nasty kidney stone...