Whale Earwax Holds a Hidden History of the Ocean
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In this Niche Scientists minisode of Wildly Curious, Katy Reiss dives into one of the strangest—and most important—jobs in science: whale earwax archivist.
Yes. That’s a real thing.
Certain whales build massive earwax plugs over their lifetime, adding a new layer every six months. And scientists have learned how to read those layers like tree rings—revealing a whale’s age, stress levels, exposure to pollution, and even the history of human impact on the ocean.
🐋 What whale earwax is actually made of…
The skinny
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