Jumat, 09 Desember 2016

The marvel and magic of reindeer antlers : TreeHugger

12.30 Bilal Chamdy No comments

If youâ€™ve ever wondered where reindeer get their powers from, look no further than those towering crowns of bone.

OK, so science hasnâ€™t actually proven that reindeer can fly and thus I can neither confirm nor deny that magical power. But, reindeer do have some very impressive tricks up their sleeves â€¦ or atop their heads as the case may be. Their antlers are nothing short of remarkable.

The latest installment of the KQED San Francisco DEEP LOOK video series is all about antlers. Itâ€™s fascinating â€" and sparked some sleuthing into the many wonders that the amazing antler beholds. Seriously, they really are a marvel. Consider the nine following facts, and then see more about these impressive appendages in the video below.

1. Antlers are bones that sprout from the head. Can you image how handy that could come in for us humans? Sadly for us antler-covetous, itâ€™s a gift bestowed only upon reindeer, elk, and their cervid kin, like moose and deer.

2. Antlers are generally reserved only for the males since testosterone is required for them to sprout, but reindeer are an equal opportunity antler-provider â€" the lady reindeers get antlers too. Badass.

3. Males use their antlers during mating season to woo and fend off other reindeer Romeos. But once mating season is over, testosterone drops and the antlers fall off â€" though a new set starts growing almost immediately. They increase in size each year until the animal reaches senior citizen status, and then they begin shrinking.

4. When the antlers are growing, they are upholstered in a fuzzy sheath of skin and fur called velvet. It is filled with special nerves and carries blood and nutrient to help build the bone it covers. Like living nurturing fur, how cool is that?

5. The velvet is extra sensitive to the touch, which encourages the antlers' owners to take much care with them until they are strong and ready to rumble.

6. Once the antlers are hard and ready, after about three months, the blood stops flowing and the velvet cracks and begins to peel off, revealing the shiny new set of bony branches.

7. Unlike our bones, which have nerves in them and hurt like heck when we break them, the bone of antler has no nerves and can thus become mighty weapons.

8. Antlers are not horns; horns are made from keratin and remain firmly attached to the animal throughout its life.

9. Scientists are fascinated by the nerves in antlers that allow them to regenerate year after year â€" which is unique among mammals â€" and they are looking at ways that this process could help humans who have suffered debilitating nerve damage.

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Benedict Cumberbatch Just Proved That Marvel Is an Unstoppable Force

There was an unusual amount of pressure on Doctor Strange, Benedict Cumberbatchâ€™s introduction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The second film after the star-studded Captain America: Civil War to usher in Marvelâ€™s so-called â€œPhase Three,â€ Strange placed a lot of expectations on Cumberbatchâ€™s crimson-cloaked shoulders and, as if by magic, heâ€™s exceeding every one of them. Cumberbatchâ€™s Sorcerer Supreme has now surpassed every other single Marvel character introduction at the box office. Not bad for someone whose yet to be drafted into the Avengers. If Marvel is planning on slowing down, it wonâ€™t be any time soon.

Deadline reports that in only its third week of release, Cumberbatchâ€™s Strange has conjured up $616 million worldwide. Thatâ€™s certainly more than previous origin stories like The Incredible Hulk ($263M), Captain America: The First Avenger ($371M), Thor ($449M), Ant-Man ($520M) and Iron Man ($585M). (To be fair to Tony Starkâ€"the original, arrogant, goateed geniusâ€"Iron Man was released before the Marvel brand packed such a punch.) At this rate, Doctor Strange could potentially even catch Marvelâ€™s ensemble origin Guardians of the Galaxy ($773,328,629 after 25 weeks) and Foxâ€™s Deadpool ($782,612,155 after 18 weeks).

How did Doctor Strangeâ€"a surreal, spiritual film plagued by early controversy and featuring a superhero that, frankly, was not even that popular with readersâ€"soar to such enviable economic heights? Well, the fact that the sceneâ€™s final showdown was set in Hong Kong couldnâ€™t have hurt. There is no Chinese Sanctum in the comics and the splashy battle for Hong Kong was only the latest way a major 2016 studio release pandered to Chinese audiences.

Thus far, Strange has earned $102M of its $411M foreign gross from China, but Cumberbatch has more than Chinese dollars to thank. The reviews for director Scott Derricksonâ€™s first foray into the world of comics were more glowing than even Marvelâ€™s usual thanks, in large part, to some fresh visual flair and an alluring, unconventional performance from Tilda Swinton. Even those suffering from superhero fatigue couldnâ€™t resist her serene, art house charms.

And the bigger-than-expected reception for both Cumberbatchâ€™s Strange and Paul Ruddâ€™s Ant-Man means Marvelâ€™s future is looking much more secure than it was even a year ago when Avengers: Age of Ultron failed to dazzle critics. Though no official announcement has been made, conventional comic book wisdom dictates that Stephen Strange, Scott Lang, Chadwick Bosemanâ€™s T'Challa, Tom Hollandâ€™s Spider-Man, and Brie Larsonâ€™s Carol Danvers have been/will be introduced in order to replace the Avengers line-up weâ€™ve come to know and love. The Avengers team is forever changing in the comics and factors like Robert Downey Jr.â€™s enormous sticker price and other Avenger actorsâ€™ increasingly busy schedules means that the films will likely follow suit.

That means Rudd, Cumberbatch, and the rest have to be at least as popular as Scarlett Johansson and the Chrises Evans and Hemsworth in order for the franchise to survive a changing of the guard. If dollars equal popularity then, well, recent box office wins mean that Marvel has nothing to be worried about.

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