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| | HMS Press Release: |
 | | SAN DIEGO-Dec. 13, 2005-Today, Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) researcher Martin Nweeia, DMD, DDS, answers a marine science question that has eluded the scientific community for hundreds of years: why does the narwhal, or "unicorn," whale have an 8-foot-long tooth emerging from its head, and what is its function? |
 | | The narwhal has a tooth, or tusk, which emerges from the left side of the upper jaw and is an evolutionary mystery that defies many of the known principles of mammalian teeth. |
 | | This work was funded by Harvard School of Dental Medicine; the National Geographic Society; Sunstar Butler; the Smithsonian Institution Center for Arctic Studies; Astro-Med, Inc.; and Fisheries and Oceans, Canada. |
| web.med.harvard.edu /sites/RELEASES/html/12_13nweeia.html (706 words) |
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