Octopuses

Keeping two arms and two legs coordinated isn't always easy. Not only do octopuses have double the number of limbs to manage, their arms behave as if they have a mind of their own.New research suggests the task of motor control might be simplified by sticking to a preferred arm to catch prey.Using California two-spot octopuses (Octopus bimaculoides), researchers tested the invertebrates' response to crabs and shrimp dropped into their tanks. The octopuses were hidden inside dens, with one eye peering out. Hundreds of…

Scientists have already established that octopuses are smarter than your average invertebrate, but a new discovery suggests one of the reasons why: a specific molecular analogy with the human brain.  Both the human genome and the octopus genome contain a high number of 'jumping genes' or transposons, which are able to duplicate themselves or move around the genome. While they're not all active, these transposons are seen as raw materials for evolutionary processes.In a new study, transposons belonging to the LINE (Long…

Nature is made up of some amazing and intriguing creatures. Perhaps one of the most intriguing is the octopus. Some even believe they could be aliens. One mystery that has long evaded scientists is the octopus’s self-destruction after mating. For years, scientists have wondered why octopuses torture themselves after mating. Now, after all this time, researchers may finally have the answer. Chemical release Chemical changes in the octopus after mating may cause them to torture and kill themselves. Image…

Octopuses are doomed to be orphans from a very young age. After a female octopus lays her eggs, she stops eating and begins self-mutilating, tearing off her skin and biting off the tips of her tentacles.  By the time a young octopus wriggles out of its egg, its mother is already dead. A few months later, its father will die, too.The short and grim life of the octopus has long fascinated scientists. In 1944, researchers hypothesized that mating was somehow hitting a molecular "self-destruct" button within the sea…