Researchers track down the reasons for the different types of teeth
Using a computer model to understand researcher of the Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, why and how teeth grow differently. Why is the mass times the same gene, a cutting-times a canine?
Professor Jukka Jernvall and watched for his team for 15 years, the dental development of various mammals, until they had collected enough data to trace the process in a computer. Their model they had developed on the basis of the development of mouse teeth tested, the researchers then in harbor seals.
The model shows that behind the teeth, a rather simple basic formula. For the variation of the teeth from cutting through grinders to a kind of canine model code, but a single small factor in the complex genetic puzzle could be responsible.
With their computer model, the scientists hope to further knowledge on the way to breed correctly shaped teeth and other organs.