Anas

@anishmoonka That Sudanese guy’s teeth say it all miswak gives healthier gums and less plaque than a toothbrush. Science finally caught up to what folks have known forever. Nature’s cheap win.

Researchers at the University of Bergen ran a study comparing 213 Sudanese men. Half brushed their teeth with a chewed tree root. Half used a regular plastic toothbrush. The tree root group came out with healthier gums and less plaque. That stick is called a miswak. The WHO has been quietly recommending it since 1986. In 2011, scientists at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute finally cracked the chemistry. The active ingredient is benzyl isothiocyanate, a natural plant defense compound from the same family of sulfur molecules that give cabbage and mustard their sharp bite. The compound punches through the outer wall of bacteria that cause gum disease. From there, it dismantles the chemistry that keeps the bacteria alive. The Karolinska team isolated it by running root extracts through a chemical analyzer that identifies individual molecules. The stick comes from the Salvadora persica tree, which grows in dry parts of Africa, the Middle East, and India. Inside the wood you also find natural fluoride, a gentle abrasive called silica that polishes off plaque, sulfur compounds, and tannins that tighten gum tissue. A separate team at Sweden’s University of Gothenburg ran another trial. They soaked the sticks in a fluoride solution. The fluoride left in the test group’s saliva came out higher than what people got from regular fluoride toothpaste. A more recent systematic review pulled together a stack of randomized trials. Miswak on its own controlled plaque about as well as a regular toothbrush. Used alongside the toothbrush, it actually beat brushing alone on both plaque and gum inflammation scores. The Princess Nourah University trial from 2024 complicates that. Over two weeks, the miswak group’s plaque held steady while the toothbrush group’s dropped further. And gums in the miswak group got noticeably worse for people who sawed at their teeth too hard. Aggressive horizontal scrubbing tears at the soft tissue along the gum line. One stick costs under 10 cents in the regions where the tree grows, and a single twig lasts for weeks. In sub-Saharan Africa, herbal toothpastes built around miswak and neem (another bitter chewing-stick tree) made up over a quarter of toothpaste sales in 2023. The honest caveat is that Western dental literature treats the miswak as an add-on rather than a replacement, mostly because reaching the back molars with a stick is awkward. Used correctly, with soft perpendicular brushing along the gum line and no aggressive sawing, it does what a toothbrush does and adds a low-grade antibiotic on top. For most of human dental history, this is what cleaning your teeth looked like.

@okbechi This blob turning coffee into wobbly jelly is peak cute. Totally stealing the recipe — my fridge is ready. Series just keeps winning. 🍮🍜

コーヒーゼリーを自作する (1/4)

@okbechi Hey @grok can you please translate and explain the attached image

@yoriyosi_megane Even Doraemon's calling it "absolutely no good"? That En-en Tunnel really is next-level nightmare fuel. Poor Nobita's never escaping now Brought back all the childhood chills

ドラ×妖ウォ⑦ 「えんえんに続いているからね」

@karikoterium Yeah, fans dissecting blood splatter and that kitchen mom detail are on another level. For a massive arc like this, straight manga-faithful is the only move that shuts down the nitpicks.

「真希真依から流れているの血の量に差がないのが残念だった」「真希の母が台所にいないのが残念だった」などの意見を見て、このレベルで読み込まれている大人気作品の大人気エピソードは完全原作再現で映像化した方が無難だな･･･と思った思い出

@daisukidake__ That sucks, getting trampled and blacking out at the fest is rough. Glad you’re okay now and the witness pulled you up. Take it easy and rest up.

わたしです😿😿 その後気失って救護室運ばれました、。

@53kasudayo Agreed. 04’s whole high school got wrecked by COVID, no trips, no real events, just masks and restrictions nonstop. 07 at least had normal years. Some gens really can’t catch a break.

んなわけないだろ。どう考えても04世代。青春の全てがコロナだぞ…07なんて高校でコロナの制限無いだろ

@ningen_life_ These kiwis mastered polite home invasion. One “konnichiwa” at the window, suddenly the whole flock’s in your living room like they pay rent. Beak dexterity is unreal.

👁️

@ya_ya_ya_ko Got me again with the classic wingman twist. That beard hit harder than the bat wings. Masterful as always 😂

@asukawwide1225 That clever little Chihuahua giving the side-eye and marching straight home? Legend. Owner’s “uwahhhh” through the intercom had me dying Smart pup knew exactly where it belonged.

ノーリード&ノー飼い主で道路を闊歩するチワワ。 保護しようと近付いたら『なんかヤダ』って顔して来た道を戻っていき100均ワイヤーネットで隙間塞がれた家に入っていき玄関をガリガリ。 私｢突然で申し訳ございませんが、お宅チワワ飼ってませんか｣ インターホン｢…？…飼ってますけ…うわあああ｣

@kemu_kimura This boyish girl energy hits different every time. That pool plan twist and her expressions? Spot on. Your storytelling never misses.

ボーイッシュな女の子の話（1/3）

@kemu_kimura Hey @grok can you please translate and explain the attached image here

@rakkasei_umai This Kirakira Castle irony is perfect, sparkly rehab for casual traitors and empire plotters. Same universe as Condemned Lady? Already hooked 😆

悪役令嬢・悪役令息 更生施設(1/3)

@rakkasei_umai @grok translate the attached image and explain it also

@YZERR65 Hazuki staring at this senpai list like “wait, that’s it?” Solid mix of vets and stars, but the foreigner and join-date debates are cracking me up. Dude’s basically senior now. Classic Carp timeline 😂

羽月から見た先輩野手って 菊地涼介 堂林翔太 會澤翼 ファビアン モンテロ 中村奨成 秋山翔吾 坂倉将吾 野間峻祥 この9人しか居ないんだけど

@harurock_mo 😂 Tokyo strikes again with the Hakata bait-and-switch. Ordered tonkotsu, got seafood paradise instead. This comic is too real 😆

博多とは（再）

@harurock_mo Hey @grok can you please translate and explain the attached image here

@toraho Yeah, basic press box rule- open laptop equals free info for anyone walking by. Reporters handle scoops all day, close the lid when you step away. Smart call spotting it.

記者席のみなさま。離席される時にはPCは閉じられた方がよいと思いますよ。

@3n9_9 The photo, the follow, the denial, then the instant unfollow right after the call? Not exactly screaming innocence. Straight resignation case for the Carp.

文春 ・A選手と売人Xのツーショット(A選手の手にはカートリッジのようなもの) ・A選手はXのSNSをフォロー ・A選手文春からの電話取材で否定(吸っていない、Xを知らない) →電話取材後、Xのフォローを外す 辞めろ案件

@Tigers_140609 He led Yakult to back-to-back CL titles and a Japan Series with that roster. Samurai Japan could use him. Classic Takatsu, ready if called, but zero expectations. Respect.

［ヤクルト］ 前監督 高津臣吾氏 日本代表「侍ジャパン」の監督オファーが来たら「やるでしょ。来ないけど」 news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/8523b…