Ram Tough, Antler Tougher by Scott LaFee - Eureka! on Creators.com

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Ram Tough, Antler Tougher

The antlers of red deer (Cervus elephus) are not just impressive, decorative ornamentation, but they are also extraordinary weapons. Male red deer use their many-pronged antlers as lethal weaponry in duels with competing suitors for mates. These antler-to-antler collisions produce enormous impacts and forces.

John Currey, a researcher at the University of York, wondered how the antlers managed to withstand the punishment. A series of experiments with Spanish colleagues provided some surprising answers.

First, the scientists discovered that the antlers are essentially dried out by dueling season, having evaporated out much of their moisture after reaching full growth. In tests, dry antler bone proved to be almost as stiff as wet bone and, remarkably, absorbed six times more energy before shattering. Both findings were contrary to conventional wisdom.

"It is very difficult to make anything that is both stiff and tough," said Currey. Red deer seem to have solved the problem.

'TRUE FACTS'

The Canary Islands off the coast of northwest mainland Africa (but an autonomous region of Spain) are not named after the birds, though canaries abound there. The Romans originally named the islands "insulae canariae," Latin for "islands of canines" after the abundant, indigenous wild dogs.

The subsequent English name for the islands became Canary, which was also used for the small passerine bird species found there.

So, in a sense, the birds' name means "dogs."

QUIRKS OF NATURE

A tree ring study of Great Basin bristlecone pines suggests global warming has some beneficiaries. The trees, which at thousands of years of age are among the oldest organisms on Earth, have grown faster in the last 50 years than in the previous 3,700.

Great Basin bristlecones are found in eastern California, Nevada and Utah. One specimen, nicknamed Methuselah and located near Bishop, Calif., is estimated to be 4,700 years old.

BRAIN SWEAT

Can you translate these rebuses?

1. YOU JUST ME

2. getgetitgetget

3. Off to dinner and a movie

Leg

PRIME NUMBERS

250,000 — Value of prize, in dollars, being offered by NASA for the winning design of new gloves to be worn by astronauts working in space

Source: NASA

BRAIN SWEAT ANSWERS

1. Just between you and me

2. Forget about it

3. Go out on a limb

VERBATIM

Research is wonder.

— American physicist Steven E. Jones, when asked if research destroys wonder

JUST ASKING

Do Australians call the rest of the world "up over?"

WHAT IS IT? ANSWER

Red blood cells.

To find out more about Scott LaFee and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.