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The polar bear has become an icon of global warming vulnerability, but a new study has found an Arctic mammal that may be more at risk to climate change: the narwhal.

The narwhal, a whale with a long spiral tusk that inspired the myth of the unicorn, edged out the polar bear in a climate-change risk analysis of Arctic marine mammals published last week in the journal Ecological Applications.

"What we wanted to do was look at the whole picture," said study co-author Ian Stirling. "We're talking about a whole ecosystem. We're talking about several different species that use ice extensively and are very vulnerable."

This doesn't mean that the narwhal -- with a population of 50,000 to 80,000 -- will die off first; polar bear counts are closer to 20,000, and they are directly harmed by melting ice, scientists said.

The technique of painting in oils was developed in Asia as much as 800 years before it appeared in Europe, according to an analysis of cave murals found at Bamiyan in Afghanistan.

A team of scientists and art historians is attempting to restore at least some of the murals. In the process, they have taken samples from the paintings to identify the pigments so they can be duplicated.

The researchers reported last week in the Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectroscopy that 12 out of 50 caves decorated from the mid-seventh century to the 10th century were painted with oil-based paints.

For what may be the first time since the inception of the American space program, the Navy is restricting nominations to the astronaut corps. The cutback comes as the service tries to retain the expertise it needs to fulfill its wartime obligations while experiencing an overall decline in its numbers.

Applications to the space program from 10 Navy specialties will no longer be accepted "due to critical inventory shortfalls and/or priority global war on terrorism skill set requirements."

Those groups include the special warfare forces, certain engineering groups and experts in explosive ordinance disposal.

NEWS SERVICES