Mom's teeth tell her history of giving birth and raising babies in Asian black bears

(Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology) Scientists from four Japanese institutions including Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (TUAT) have discovered that width of surface layers coating tooth's roots correlates with reproductive histories of female Asian black bears. When a female bear raised cubs, the layers of her teeth were much narrower compared to those when she was not. Thus, measuring layer width of female bears' teeth can be a useful index for their reproductive hi...