Bones mixed with enamel

[ttyo888]

I want to know is it biologically possible for enamel or dentin to be formed not only on the teeth but also in the bones?

 

Won't this organism have a stronger skeleton?

[Mokele]

Embryology - teeth can only be formed from ectoderm, bones form from mesoderm.

[ttyo888]

Hi Mokele

 

so it's possible to mix enamel with bones of the body? Or will it be brittle?

[Mouse]

Teeth and bone seem to develop from different cells if I remember so I think it's not possible.

[Mokele]

Mouse is right - while we are very adaptable, we are limited by our embryology, which is why no organism has it's head in its torso, among other things.

 

Teeth can only develop from the outermost layer of the embryo, the ectoderm. In contrast, bones can only develop from the middle layer, the mesoderm (which forms stuff like kidneys, heart, bones, muscles, reproductive system, etc).

 

Another problem is functional. Bones are tremendously strong and damage resistant is large part because they're a mix of mineral matrix and woven strands of organic matter (like composite materials such as carbon fiber). Dentin has less organic matter, which makes it stiffer (not necessarily stronger), and more prone to cracking. Enamel, for all its benefits, is extremely prone to cracks and fracture, far more so than bone.

 

 

Basically, with real bone in your legs, if you run away from a tiger really fast, most times you put too much weight on the bones you'll get "micro-fractures" which will hurt later (once you've outrun the tiger) but can heal (and make bone stronger). If, however, your bones were dentin (or enamel), any time you put too much weight on them, they'd simply snap, and you'd get eaten by the tiger. Better to have lots of minor damage that doesn't impair function than a bit more strength and a much greater risk of catastrophic failure.

[ttyo888]

Thank you so much....

 

But so in summary there is no way to strength a bone without impairing function...

[Mokele]

Actually, strontium is known to increase bone strength in animals dosed with it. It's just not used in nature because it's so much rarer that you'd never find enough to build a functional bone.

 

Remember, biological systems are rarely "optimal" in the broad sense. Biology does the best it can with what it has, but is often constrained by external factors, embryology, or ancestry.

[Genecks]

Thank you so much....

 

But so in summary there is no way to strength a bone without impairing function...

 

In terms of mixing enamel with bone growth, I don't think that's going to work.

 

As mentioned already, breaking the bones and the repair process often makes them stronger.

I'm not sure if Dr. Josef Mengele actually released his papers in relation to the breaking and repair process.

 

For an alternative measure, I'm guess that you'd have to determine the varying structural engineering of the skeletal system and learn what makes it strong in terms of physical and chemical constraints: in general, the dynamics of the organic and inorganic substances. From there, make it stronger while keeping the biomechanics of the organism the same.

 

Still, it would take time to discover the varying skeletal engineering aspects among the spectrum of species with bones. Sure, it's mostly related to developmental biology, but to change developmental biology would mean changing the organism from the beginning, such as using genetic engineering. Perhaps there would be a way to control to repair process after breakage in order to make an usual repair that makes the skeletal structure much more structurally rugged than before, but I suspect that would be an incredibly painful and time-consuming process.

Edited January 9, 2010 by Genecks