The teeth of 19,000 year old woman “are helping illuminate a vanished world of bacteria and their chemical creations,” reports Science.org. Researchers have recovered and reconstructed the genetic material of bacteria living in the mouth from the dental calculus of ancient bones. Sequencing the microbes and re-creating their chemical creations will help scientists find out … Read more
A French aristocrat’s dental secret has been revealed 400 years after her death, scientists discover. Anne d’Alegre, who died in 1618, was using gold wire to keep her teeth from falling out. Her body was found at the Chateau de Laval in 1988 during an archaeological excavation. Her teeth were surprisingly well preserved and it … Read more
The Black Death which killed around 200 million people across Europe — an estimated 60 per cent of the population — arrived via Russia, a study suggests. Researchers reconstructed the genomes of the bacteria that caused the Black Death by analysing the teeth of its victims from across Europe. Their findings suggest that the disease had … Read more