Enamel nanocrystal misorientation increased with meat-eating and agriculture

By: Pupa U. P. A. Gilbert · Daniel R. Green · Patrick Mahoney · Debbie Guatelli-Steinberg · W. Scott McGraw · Emma Lagan · Fredrick Kyalo Manthi · Samuel Muteti · Emmanuel Ndiema · Fernando Ramirez Rozzi · Cayla A. Stifler · Connor A. Schmidt · Barat Q. Achinuq · Andreas Scholl · Benjamin Gilbert · Mackie C. O’Hara

3 June 2026 at 01:00

Nature, Published online: 03 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10583-8

An analysis of enamel nanocrystal misorientation in primate and human teeth across three major dietary shifts in human evolution shows that misorientation increased with harder diets, suggesting that misorientation contributes to enamel’s resilience.

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