The 40 Million-Year-Old Ecosystem In Your Mouth

Dental calculus is the only part of your body that actually fossilizes while you're alive!

The 40 Million-Year-Old Ecosystem In Your Mouth Eons

Premiered December 09, 2021
The 40 Million-Year-Old Ecosystem In Your Mouth

The hardened residue scraped off your teeth at the dentist is called your dental calculus, and your dental calculus is the only part of your body that actually fossilizes while you’re alive! And scientists have figured out how to study & trace the evolutionary history of these microbes over tens of millions of years.

About the Program

Eons

Join hosts Michelle Barboza-Ramirez, Kallie Moore, and Blake de Pastino as they take you on a journey through the history of life on Earth. From the dawn of life in the Archaean Eon through the Mesozoic Era — the so-called “Age of Dinosaurs” -- right up to the end of the most recent Ice Age.

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