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The End of Cavities?
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Saturday, June 17, 2006
8:38:00 AM EDT
Hearing Nothing at the moment
Many of the cavities in your mouth are caused by bacteria that live there, eat sugars you leave there, and squirt out acid as waste, which wears down your teeth. Now scientists are thinking about genetically modifying the bacteria so they don't create acid -- thereby ending a major factor in tooth decay:
If approved as a treatment, a single visit to the dentist would be all that is necessary. The patient's teeth would be swabbed with the modified bacteria for five minutes, allowing it to begin its work. Over the following months, the entire population of the unmodified S. mutans in the mouth would be completely supplanted. The new organisms' ability to muscle out the old riffraff should theoretically allow the new bacteria to reside indefinitely once it is established in the mouth– so it is possible that a single treatment will last for an individual's lifetime.
The reason to read the article is that it takes time describing how the scientists are worried that something could go wrong -- if the bacteria exists elsewhere and the modified version gets out in the world, unintended and bad things might happen. It's an illustration of how scientists have to think ahead to figure out what could go wrong by doing that seems so obviously right.
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8:38:00 AM EDT
Hearing Nothing at the moment
The End of Cavities?
Many of the cavities in your mouth are caused by bacteria that live there, eat sugars you leave there, and squirt out acid as waste, which wears down your teeth. Now scientists are thinking about genetically modifying the bacteria so they don't create acid -- thereby ending a major factor in tooth decay:
If approved as a treatment, a single visit to the dentist would be all that is necessary. The patient's teeth would be swabbed with the modified bacteria for five minutes, allowing it to begin its work. Over the following months, the entire population of the unmodified S. mutans in the mouth would be completely supplanted. The new organisms' ability to muscle out the old riffraff should theoretically allow the new bacteria to reside indefinitely once it is established in the mouth– so it is possible that a single treatment will last for an individual's lifetime.
The reason to read the article is that it takes time describing how the scientists are worried that something could go wrong -- if the bacteria exists elsewhere and the modified version gets out in the world, unintended and bad things might happen. It's an illustration of how scientists have to think ahead to figure out what could go wrong by doing that seems so obviously right.
Written by johnmscalzi Blog about this entry |
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This entry has 2 comments: (Add your own)
-
Getting out my scale to weigh out the choices...cavities or oral sex?...cavities or oral sex? I've heard eating swiss cheese neutrulizes cavity causing acids. Dan, you have a nice big smile in your All about Me section. I'm just gonna guess you either have really good teeth or all of them are fake because someone punched your teeth out years ago. I'm waiting for you to tell us.
6/17/06 1:57 PM
-Dan