The thorns of a rose, tusks of an elephant, talons of a dragon and the power law connecting them all

Scientists believe they have discovered how teeth grow, which could allow an accurate prediction of what the dragons from Game of Thrones would look like if they really existed. Have you ever wondered how pointed structures in nature – for example, teeth, horns, claws, beaks, animal shells and plant thorns – grow? A multidisciplinary team of scientists from Monash University (Melbourne, Australia) did, and they now believe they have solved the 350-year-old puzzle of how these pointed body parts grow.  In their study, recently published in BMC Biology, the team outlines the ‘power cascade’ rule, which is based on how the shape of a tooth cascades...