If you are over 40, living in the UAE and have false teeth or getting there because of periodontal disease, you still have a reason to smile.

Japanese scientists from the University of Tokyo have used bioengineering techniques to grow new teeth in a lab dish and have transplanted them successfully in mice since February 2007.

They have used organ germ culture to ensure that mice teeth will never decay.

Khor Kalba is the last bit of land of the UAE, at the south-eastern tip of the country. When Gonu hit the area on June 6, water surged through the Corniche Park, Suhaila and Khor Kalba.

That week I took a tour from Dibba, through Khor Fakkan to Khor Kalba to see whether any major damage had been caused to the local biodiversity.

What I noticed was that a tiny lizard – one of the smallest of the UAE – the rock semaphore or dwarf rock gecko – has disappeared.

Occasionally I venture into the desert in July to see the dwellers that challenge all odds of nature.

I drove almost up to the Al Ain border, about 70km from Dubai, near Al Maha Desert Resort around 7am. Then I walked for about 5 kilometres in about two hours through the undulating dune country.

The Rub Al Khali has very limited plant diversity. There are only 37 species, 20 recorded in the main body of the sands and 17 around the outer margins.

Amidst the scorching sun I walked a few kilometres through the winding wadi system behind Hatta when I landed on the edge of a pool of water.

Any pool is the lifeline for all plants and animals that live within a few kilometres of such an area.

A pool in summer is one of the best natural laboratories in the UAE.

I was searching for the largest lizard in the UAE – Jayakari’s lizard – which lives in the Hajar Mountains.

This is the only mountain range in the UAE. Almost every part of this range is bone dry, barring a few wadi pools.

I was climbing by the second dam near Hatta. As I wanted to get rid of the scorching heat and baked rocks, I climbed down towards a wadi.