Noel's Article Summary Page The Mystery of a Narwhal Tusk
Many assume that the tusk or horn of a Narwhal is used as a weapon, but scientists are now claiming that these tusks can be used as a mating signal. Not much is known about a Narwhal tusk because it is hard to study them in the wild. They decided to compare the overall whale size to the tusk size in order to provide evidence, depending on the disproportionate growth of the sexual trait. Scientists studied 250 male narwhals, finding out that males of the same size had varied tusk sizes from a foot to at least 8 feet. This may be evidence for a communication structure, but since it has been observed that there are scars on narwhals, there is always the chance that it has been used as a weapon.
Source: https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/whats-a-narwhals-tusk-for/
Jellyfish Give a Toxic Sting Without Tentacles
If you have ever gotten out of the water from a swim at the beach, you may have experienced a strange itchy or burning feeling. It is called stinging water and the cause is still unknown; however, scientists may have an answer. They believe a type of jellyfish called the Cassiopea might be the suspect of the stinging water. These jellyfish have a soft, and circular body with tentacles floating above them. They sting their victims by releasing mucus into the water, but scientists have never explored what in the mucus is causing the irritation. The plumes of mucus that are released have tiny spheres and are covered nematocysts, which regular jellyfish stinging cells have. Studying this animal can lead to and understanding the biological process which can both help humans and animals.
Source: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/cause-mystery-stings-ocean-confirmed-180974198/
The Future is here: DNA Data Storage
DNA Data storage systems sound fictional or an invention to be made in the future; however, scientists have somehow made DNA data storage possible. Currently, humans are producing massive amounts of DNA and soon enough, our data storage will not be able to handle that much data. However, DNA can be used to store 215 petabytes, or 215 million gigabytes each gram. This is possible because scientist encodes data in the four Nucledtide bases, A, T, C, and G. Using these bases, a DNA strand is synthesized and stored in a special bottle and will be decoded for data if needed once again. This technology is not ready because of the cost and the speed of the data transfer. It costs about $7,000 only to synthesize two megabytes of DNA and it is extremely slow to code and decode the DNA back into data. Hopefully, this technology improves and only pushes the way forward for the usage of DNA.
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/03/dna-could-store-all-worlds-data-one-room
A Decrease in History Majors
In the past few years, there has been a decrease in the number of people majoring in history. In 2008, there were about 35,000+ people majoring in history but in 2017, there are only 20,000+ majoring in history. People are avoiding the history major because adults and students alike are preferring to take high-paying jobs instead of jobs they enjoy. Students and parents are deciding to major in something more simple and majoring in subjects that include STEM. In order to increase the number of history majors, people are working to prove myths and facts about the history and are arguing they need people that are sharp eyes, and with a perspective on the future, like historians.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-people-major-history-180970913/
The Voice of a 3,000-year-old Mummy
Recently, scientists from universities in England have recreated the voice of a 3,000-year-old ancient Egyptian priest mummy, Nesayamun. By using 3D printing, medical scanners, and an electronic larynx, they managed to replicate a single vowel sound. They had to take exact measurements of the larynx and throat by using a non-destructive CT scan. However, scientists were not able to get an exact replica of the sound because the tongue had deteriorated over the 3,000 year time period. Nonetheless, this technology has helped in developments to hear vocal tracts from someone long dead.
A 500 Year in the Making Exhibition
An ongoing exhibition at Manhattan’s Grolier Club is containing five hundred years’ worth of women’s works, celebrating the ignored history of women. All 200 of these letters, books, and journals were compiled by Lisa Unger Balkins. This never before seen exhibition contains works from famous names like Harriet Beecher Stowe, Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Emmeline Pankhurst. Inspired by Baskin’s collection, the Grolier Club continues to show these works and include any and all women within the amount selected. The producers of this event decided they wanted to bring to light the untold stories of ordinary women in history.
Daily Dose of Internet
A youtube channel going by the name of "Daily Dose of Internet" is growing exponentially and currently has six million subscribers on Youtube. The owner of the channel, Jason Gryniewicz, had decided to post a video of random clips he had found on the internet. It currently has 3.5 million views and several thousand likes. From this point, he posted videos of random things you might find on the internet. Gryniewicz's videos consist of flaming burgers, sharks that glow in the dark, 3D printed steaks, and so on. It's interesting what you might find.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdC0An4ZPNr_YiFiYoVbwaw/videos
