🔬 Science 5d ago · Jennifer Ouellette

X-rays add new twist to narwhal's spiral tusk

Ars Technica Science
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X-rays add new twist to narwhal's spiral tusk
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CT scan of a narwhal tusk. Credit: Adrian Rodriguez Palomo/CC BY-NC







CT scan of a narwhal tusk. Credit: Adrian Rodriguez Palomo/CC BY-NC







Narwhals are toothed whales, renowned for their distinctive straight, spiraling tusks, which many people in medieval times believed were the horns of unicorns and thus held magical healing properties. That belief was debunked long ago, but the tusks remain popular souvenirs in Canada and Greenland

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