Enamel evolved in the skin and colonized the teeth much later
Wednesday, September 23, 2015 - 15:40
in Biology & Nature
When did the enamel that covers our teeth evolve? And where in the body did this tissue first appear? In a new study, researchers combined data from two very different research fields -- paleontology and genomics -- to arrive at a clear but unexpected answer to this question: enamel originated in the skin and colonized the teeth much later.