• Question: why do bone rot

    Asked by siddiq to Louise, Michaela, Sian, Steve, Yvette on 17 Jun 2010 in Categories: . This question was also asked by nightthorne.
    • Photo: Louise Johnson

      Louise Johnson answered on 16 Jun 2010:

      Bone rots because it’s delicious food for bacteria, rich in minerals like phosphate. (I had a tooth extraction go wrong once and got an infection of the jawbone, so I know this from VERY painful personal experience.)

    • Photo: Steven Kiddle

      Steven Kiddle answered on 16 Jun 2010:

      Bones rot because they are made of cells. Although they seem solid, they are actually alive (when you are!), this means that they are partly made of organic matter that is broken down by rots and moulds if they are left in the open.

    • Photo: Michaela Livingstone

      Michaela Livingstone answered on 16 Jun 2010:

      I’ve already answered this somewhere… I didn’t think bones do rot because they’re made of a hard mineral and bacteria can’t ‘digest’ that, but apparently they can! You learn something new every day!

    • Photo: Yvette Wilson

      Yvette Wilson answered on 17 Jun 2010:

      bones have many excellent minerals, so bacteria and fungi eat them.

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