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You Can't Handle the Tooth episode artwork

Mar 27, 2017 21 min

You Can't Handle the Tooth

from We Have Concerns Hosted by Jeff Cannata/Anthony Carboni

Hardened plaque harvested from Neanderthal teeth is loaded with genetic material from plants and animals these prehistoric hominins ate, as well as remnants of microbes that reveal a surprising amount about how they lived and even what made them sick. Researchers extracted the ancient DNA and bacteria from the jaws of three Neanderthal individuals from Belgium and Spain, and described the results in a paper published in the journal Nature. Jeff and Anthony discuss the findings and what it might mean for the history - and future - of man. GET BONUS EPISODES, VIDEO HANGOUTS AND MORE. VISIT: http://patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Get all your sweet We Have Concerns merch by swinging by http://wehaveconcerns.com/shop Hey! If you’re enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate/review it on whatever service you use to listen. Here’s the iTunes link: http://bit.ly/wehaveconcerns And here’s the Stitcher link: http://bit.ly/stitcherwhconcerns Jeff on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jeffcannata Anthony on Twitter: http://twitter.com/acarboni Today’s story was sent in by Alex Salinas: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/03/neanderthals-teeth-diet-medicine-microbiome-humans-science/ If you’ve seen a story you think belongs on the show, send it to [email protected] or leave it on the subreddit:http://reddit.com/r/wehaveconcerns Support the show and get bonus episodes, videos, Discord community access and more! http://patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Jeff on Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/jeffcannata.bsky.social Anthony on Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/acarboni.bsky.social

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Hardened plaque harvested from Neanderthal teeth is loaded with genetic material from plants and animals these prehistoric hominins ate, as well as remnants of microbes that reveal a surprising amount about how they lived and even what made them sick. Researchers extracted the ancient DNA and bacteria from the jaws of three Neanderthal individuals from Belgium and Spain, and described the results in a paper published in the journal Nature. Jeff and Anthony discuss the findings and what it might mean for the history - and future - of man.

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You Can't Handle the Tooth

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