A paper by Takashi Tsuji and colleagues describing a general method to reconstitute ectodermal organs such as teeth and whiskers has met with criticism by members of the community who claim there is nothing substantively new reported. The development and transplantation of engineered teeth was previously reported but the changes described in the new report, though small, do seem to represent an important advance as attested to by others in the field.

Read the paper by Nakao et al. and some of the press coverage listed below and give us your thoughts.

The Scientist – Teeth, whiskers bioengineered

Chemistry World – Researchers sink their teeth in