BREAKTHROUGHS (^) | EXPLORE
ckest fur, sea otters can
ing heavily upon seafloor
n dig clams out of fields of
s in otherwise dense mats
at otters inhabit compared
e more genetically diverse
ng to a study published in
foraging and disturbing
flower and produce seeds,
and sunlight for seeds to
as eelgrass are imperiled
hey’re vital to ecosystems
he water, store carbon, and
mals. The study’s finding
ors often influence their
ways, says lead researcher
FICIAL
S, THEY ENCOURAGE
ED AQUATIC PLANTS.
ERRICO
Studies dwell on blue blooms
A review of 280 Alpine regional plant
studies over 45 years shows that blue
flowers got the most attention;
yellow, white, or red/pink the next
most, and green/brown blooms much
less. Also popular: tall flowers (so
scientists don’t have to stoop?). The
research bias has implications for which
flowers get protection. —LORI CUTHBERT
NUMERATION
Exploring
the Origins
of Counting
How did humans
go from an innate,
general sense of
quantity—a pair,
a few, many—to
inventing numbers
and arithmetic?
Why are counting
systems so diverse
across global cul-
tures? Answering
these questions
isn’t as easy as one,
two, three, so the
European Research
Council is funding
QUANTA, a multi -
year inquiry into
counting’s origins.
QUANTA will pore
over linguistic and
ethnographic data,
as well as artifacts
such as this 60,000-
year-old notched
hyena femur, which
may have served
as a Neanderthal’s
scratch paper.
—MICHAEL GRESHKO
EXPLORE | DATA SHEET
Leonardo da Vinci’s
“Mona Lisa” may
have one of the mrecognizable yet most yste-
rious visages of all time.
Would today’s apps know
what makes her smile?
REVEALING ALL ...
BY ALBERTO LUCAS LÓPEZ AND KELSEY NOWAKOWSKI
Facial recognition
22 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
maropa
(Maropa)
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