The Evolution of Teeth

Misha Glenny and guests discuss one of the wonders of the natural world. In 1875 in the western Pacific, the crew of HMS Challenger discovered the Mariana Trench which turned out to be deeper than Everest is high, by two kilometres. Trenches like Mariana form when one tectonic pl ...  Show more

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the evolution of lungs and of the first breaths, which can be traced back 400 million years to when animal life spread from rock pools and swamps onto land, as some fish found an evolutionary advantage in getting their oxygen from air rather than w ...  Show more

Where do teeth come from and how do different dental variations in the animal world force us to rethink our glorious chompers? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe explore dental evolution and the wondrous marching molars of elephants and manatees.  Learn mo ...  Show more

Sharks are known for their big toothy "grins". But what do we really know about shark teeth?  Dr. Lisa Whitenack, associate professor at Allegheny College and a shark expert, is here to chat with us about a few of the very interesting shark teeth she has discovered and what type ...  Show more

Long before the first dinosaurs, the first trees or even the formation of the rings of Saturn, our planet's oceans were ruled by prehistoric sharks.

Across two special episodes of The Ancients this week, Tristan Hughes is joined by Professor John Long to journey back ...

Evolution is constantly adapting us to our environment, making species more suited and better equipped to survive in their natural habitat. So why did our distant ancestors have better teeth than we do? And what can the study of our gnashers tell us about our diet, our oral healt ...  Show more