this post was submitted on 03 Jun 2024
447 points (99.1% liked)

Uplifting News

11466 readers
39 users here now

Welcome to /c/UpliftingNews, a dedicated space where optimism and positivity converge to bring you the most heartening and inspiring stories from around the world. We strive to curate and share content that lights up your day, invigorates your spirit, and inspires you to spread positivity in your own way. This is a sanctuary for those seeking a break from the incessant negativity often found in today's news cycle. From acts of everyday kindness to large-scale philanthropic efforts, from individual achievements to community triumphs, we bring you news that gives hope, fosters empathy, and strengthens the belief in humanity's capacity for good.

Here in /c/UpliftingNews, we uphold the values of respect, empathy, and inclusivity, fostering a supportive and vibrant community. We encourage you to share your positive news, comment, engage in uplifting conversations, and find solace in the goodness that exists around us. We are more than a news-sharing platform; we are a community built on the power of positivity and the collective desire for a more hopeful world. Remember, your small acts of kindness can be someone else's big ray of hope. Be part of the positivity revolution; share, uplift, inspire!

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] bobs_monkey@lemm.ee 31 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

The medicine itself deactivates the uterine sensitization-associated gene-1 (USAG-1) protein, which suppresses tooth growth. As we reported in 2023, blocking USAG-1's interaction with other proteins encourages bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling, which triggers new bone to generate. In the ferret study, the drug resulted in the growth of a new tooth (fourth from left), and it also strengthened bone in the existing set. It resulted in new teeth emerging in the mouths of mice and ferrets, species that share close to the same USAG-1 properties as humans.

Am I missing something? It seems like it prompts the body to actually grow new teeth, though I'll admit I am way out of my wheelhouse here.

[–] southsamurai@sh.itjust.works 11 points 5 months ago (1 children)

It's more about the extremely early stages of things. It will be years before it gets to the point it's being used on people that have lost teeth. Right now, it's for people only with congenital lack of teeth.

I'm not saying the drug isn't going there eventually, it likely will. But it's not going to be even tested for other uses for something like two more years (iirc, I'm pulling this from memory over the last year or so that the drug has been reported on) from now, and even that assumes the current testing is successful.

It's an incredibly promising thing that will help a lot of people if it's safe and effective, not just the current targeted population.

I'm actually hyped for this to work out. My working life was partially with geriatric patients. The quality of life loss that goes along with tooth loss is horrible. Then there's the loss of bone density in the jaw after losing the teeth.

My peeve is with the reporting putting the cart before the horse. Bad medical reporting causes problems even more than bad science reporting in general. Report what is, especially in headlines, then cover what might be as a secondary note. Right now, regrowing teeth is not proven capability of the drug for humans. The testing for growing teeth where they've never been hasn't even finished yet.

[–] MystikIncarnate@lemmy.ca 1 points 5 months ago

The reality of what it is right now isn't as catchy as what it could be.

So media tends towards the latter. More clicks that way.