北大がすごいことをやろうとしています。抜けてしまった乳歯を用いて高齢者の骨を再生するというのです。文系馬鹿の私に専門知識はありませんが、乳歯にはとてつもないパワーがあることだけは理解できました。
以下Arvinくんとの対話です。
Arvin
Hi, Toshi-san!
Toshi
Hi, Arvin. I remember you told me that you have a friend who is a Hokkaido University student, right?
Arvin
Yes. I met him when I visited Sapporo last year. We had ramen together.
Toshi
According to the newspaper, Hokudai will start a surprising venture together with some other organizations.
Arvin
What is it?
Toshi
I’m not good at Biology, so allow me to use layman’s term.
They are going to find ways to use baby teeth in order to help regenerate bones of the elderly. As you know, people’s bones get fragile and more likely to be fractured as they get older. Milk teeth are full of cells young enough to regenerate.
Arvin
I think I get the idea. I think they are trying to correlate the science of stem cells regeneration with the osteoregenerative power of the bones. They are tapping the possibility of being able to use the restoration prowess of a new born infant. That’s just my guess though. I think it has a good relation with that.
Toshi
I remember my father had a bicycle accident. He slipped over a wet road and had his leg bone fractured. His doctor said it wouldn’t have happened if my dad was younger.
This story tells that milk teeth might prevent old people from breaking bones.
Arvin
I think that this technology will be very useful in the future, especially for those people who fall victim to severe bone fractures and physical accidents where bone regeneration is a must.
Toshi
I’m sure that the researchers deserve Nobel Prize if they are successful with the technology.
Arvin
I think so too. And I guess, this is what they are after – to be recognized worldwide by many medical institutions and to bring home the bacon for the most famous university and research center in Hokkaido.