{
  "id": 2166599,
  "title": "Narwhals Sport Iconic Straight, Spiraled Tusks. Scientists Just Uncovered Some of the Eye-Catching Feature's Structural Secrets",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/20/narwhals-sport-iconic-straight-spiraled-tusks-scientists-just",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-08-20T15:11:05.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Smithsonian",
    "slug": "smithsonian",
    "url": "https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/narwhals-sport-iconic-straight-spiraled-tusks-scientists-just-uncovered-some-of-the-eye-catching-features-structural-secrets-180989368/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "The Arctic whales are the only known animals with straight tusks, and ones that consistently twist to the left. New research reveals that the inner layer twists to the right and that the opposing spirals provide strength and help the tusks grow straight",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}