Unicorns of the Sea

The narwhal has been the topic of speculation for hundreds of years. In medieval times, its horn was sold as a unicorn horn to royalty, and was immensely valuable. It is even said that Austrian lord Kaiser Karl paid off a large national debt with two tusks. Below is a picture of a ceremonial mace made with a tusk. Though science now knows that the owner of the horn is far from a unicorn, until recently they knew more about what the purpose of a unicorn's horn than the one found on a narwhal. What is known is that the tusk of the narwhal is one of two teeth. The tusk is most commonly found on males, and grows six to nine feet in length. Though it is usually males who have the tusk, there are also occasionally females with that feature. Another mutation, one which only approximately one in five hundred whales have, is for both teeth to be elongated into tusks. This is shown in the middle whale depicted in the picture beneath the mace.

Now, scientists have finally found out why the narwhals have their fascinating teeth. Several of the speculations over the years were that it was used as a spear for fishing, it was used as a lance in dominance or defense, or that it was used to spear breathing holes in the ice. Now, however, it has become evident that the tusk is actually a super-sensitive sensory organ. The horn has millions of small nerve endings that reach out from the inside of the tusk to the water. The tusk can likely be used to sense changes in water temperature, pressure, and more. This also explains why the whales sometimes rub their horns against each other in a behavior known as tusking. Look here for more about narwhals.

The E Word

Warning: Controversial language ahead! How could I make a blog dedicated to science without discussing the e-word? Yes, I am talking about evolution! For those of you who may not be clear on this, the Theory of Evolution proposes that all life on Earth shares a common ancestor. New species are created over time, branching off from an earlier race. Evolution could be compared to a tree, where thicker (older) branches will split off at the ends. Of course, no one is saying that humans evolved from chimps. However, humans, chimps, and orangutans did evolve from one common ancestor. This occurs when one creature has a genetic mutation that causes it to be a more productive member of the species. The mutation will then be passed on to its children, and so on and so forth. Eventually, the mutation will become more and more pronounced, until it has formed its own species. For example, the giraffe and the tapir had a common ancestor. This ancestor had mutations which caused some of the creatures to have long necks, some to have short necks, and some to have midsized necks. The ones with long necks succeeded because they could reach the foliage on the tops of the trees. The ones with short necks succeeded because they fed on ground plants. The ones with medium sized necks, however, died out. Eventually, mutations caused the long-necked creatures to develop into the giraffe of today, and the short-necked ones to become tapirs.
Of course, the quintessential example of evolution is the Galapagos Islands. On these secluded islands, there is an abundance of flora and fauna found no where else in the world. Even on the individual islands in the chain, there are different species. There are at least fifteen distinct species of finches, each with a beak suited to its own environment and food source. There are also many different species of tortoise, each adapted to its environment. For example, some of the tortoises have shells with an upward curve at the front to allow them to reach their necks up towards higher foliage, while others don't. None of these species are found anywhere else in the world.
Here's some more information about the Galapagos.
Now, scientists world-wide are being threatened with a new form of an old monster. Creationism has now been reincarnated as intelligent design. This idea states that animals may have evolved slightly, but that there was a guiding force that made them as they are. Now, supporters of intelligent design and supporters of pure evolution are locked in battle over which is right and if both must be given equal footing until a conclusion has formed.

Giant Squid Found

The giant squid: it has been the thing of myth for hundreds of years. In ancient days, sailors feared the "Kraken" as a boat-eating monster. Now, we know that the giant squid does not attack boats, but that is about all that we know about this mysterious creature. We know of the existence of the giant squid because sometimes a corpse will wash up on the shore, but until recently, scientists had never seen the creature alive and in its natural habitat. The one shown on the right is an immature female on display at the National Marine Aquarium. She is about 3.3 meters, and the scientists who studied her estimate that missing tentacles could've added another four meters to her length. She was not yet grown to full size.
In September, a group of Japanese scientists finally photographed a giant squid in its natural habitat. The squid photographed was approximately 8 meters (25 feet). Read the full story here.
There is less known about the sea than there is about outer space. How do you feel about the fact that we barely know our own planet?