Answer: No
2. Is the faulty component part of the mechanism’s body?
Answer: Yes
3. Is the faulty component in the structure of the mechanism?
Answer: Yes
4. Does the fault appear in components that provide rigidity to the mechanism?
Answer: Yes
5. Can the faulty component be removed from the mechanism?
Answer: No
6. Is the fault in load bearing components?
Answer: No
7. Do multiple versions of the components exist for the faulty component?
Answer: Yes
8. Does only one of these components need to be replaced?
Answer: Yes
9. Can the mechanism have more than one extra part to replace the faulty mechanism in case of several failures?
Answer: No
27) American alligator, Alligator mississippiensis
The American alligator can be found in the southeastern parts of the United States (ÒAmerican AlligatorsÓ). It has been found that American alligators are able to regenerate their teeth if injured or lost.
The American Alligator generates a replacement tooth in three steps: pre-initiation stage, initiation stage, and growth stage. During the pre-initiation stage you can see a functional tooth, a replacement tooth, and the undifferentiated dental lamina (Wu et al.). The dental lamina has an enlarged structure where the odontogenic stem cells are housed. During the initiation stage these cells start to proliferate and undergo morphogenesis to become the tooth organ components during the growth stage (Wu et al.). The growth stage also allows the previous functional tooth to be lost and the first replacement tooth to take its place while the next tooth is being generated. In order for the alligator to be able to continually regenerate teeth the outer enamel epithelium on the youngest replacement tooth must split to form another dental lamina (Wu et al.). Some of the stem cell niche needs to be retained in the dental lamina to regenerate the next tooth, if not then the alligator will stop producing new teeth.
“American Alligators.” National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 2014. Web. 27 Nov. 2014.
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reptiles/american-alligator/
Wu, Ping, Xiaoshan Wu, Ting-Xin Jiang, Ruth M. Elsey, Bradley L. Temple, Stephen J. Divers, Travis C. Glenn, Kuo Yuan, Min-Huey Chen, Randall B. Widelitz, and Cheng-Ming Chuong. “Specialized Stem Cell Niche Enables Repetitive Renewal of Alligator Teeth.” PNAS 110.22 (2013): E2009-2018. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. Web. 29 Nov. 2014.
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