%Recently, we reported on a new #study from scientists who managed to sequence the first #octopus #genome, trying to map out the #cephalopod"s entire #DNA.% - http://clapway.com/2015/08/16/octopus-alien-more-like-humans-101/

Recently, we reported on a new study from scientists who managed to sequence the first octopus genome, trying to map out the cephalopod’s entire DNA. Sure, what they found was extraordinary and they proved that octopuses are very different from other creatures, but you are not prepared for what is coming.

The team of scientists published their impressive study, for the purpose of which they used the California two-spot octopus as their subject. Then, they combined forces with a group of researchers from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology in Japan and, together, they discovered the octopus’ strange genetics that made it the first intelligent creature on planet Earth, when it developed half a billion years ago.

DEFINE “INTELLIGENT”

Studies have found that octopuses are extremely intelligent since their behaviors can prove that they do not possess just a short-term memory, but a more complex, long-term one.

They know how to open jars in order to eat their prey, they solve puzzles, they can find their way out of a maze and they can use tools like coconuts in order to build a shelter. Their intelligence, though, seems like a necessity since parents do not learn young octopuses anything due to their little contact after their birth.

Some countries consider octopuses so intelligent that they ban them as experimental animals without anesthesia.

AND BECAUSE OCTOPUSES ARE A LOT LIKE HUMANS

Humans have 20,000 – 25,000 genes, while octopuses have 33,000 and, while uncovering the sequence, scientists discovered that some of them are similar to those found in humans and are responsible for their quick adaptation and learning.

Also, both humans and octopuses have a large brain, closed circulatory system, and their eyes are composed of an iris, retina, and lens. However, the most amazing discovery was the ability of the octopus to improve on its own genetic code, which is common in humans and other animals, but octopuses can even edit their own RNA. Trying to adjust to any condition an octopus can adapt its nerves in order to fight the extremely low temperature of the ocean. Octopuses can also taste their food due to a function of their sucker, making them selective with their dinner.

BUT WHAT IF THE OCTOPUS IS AN ALIEN?

Those who believe that octopuses come from aliens, rely on the similarities that these creatures have with humans since all the above are independently developed in another species different from our own mammal origins, and it may seem strange, but we will get an answer soon. After all, this project has given the world many possibilities and the process of breaking down the genome has only just begun, keeping us in suspense for what is about to come.

Is The Octopus An Alien, Or More Like Humans?

Octopus Shacks Up For Time Travel Sex - http://clapway.com/2015/08/13/octopus-shacks-up-101/

A lot of what biologists have learned about octopi was magnificently reinvigorated by an essay titled “Deep Intellect,” by Sy Montgomery, published by Orion Magazine in 2011. In it, Montgomery reviews what he’s learned of the incredible intelligence of octopi–and their charisma, as well.

“A home, or den, which an octopus may occupy only a few days before switching to a new one, is a place where the shell-less octopus can safely hid: a hole in a rock, a discarded shell, or a cubbyhole in a sunken ship,” she wrote. And now, according to new research on the previously unknown Larger Pacific Striped Octopus, we know that they’re not always holed up alone.

NEW OCTOPUS, FAMILIAR MATING

Yesterday the Associated Press reported that California biologists have begun to study a new octopus living off the coast of central America. Their research, which to date spans two years of empirical study in the recently published journal, totally transforms our understanding of octopi.

The Larger Pacific Striped Octopi are unique in that they enjoy longer lives, and mate, almost anthropomorphically, by shacking up for days at a time in little underwater caves and discarded shells.

MALE OCTOPI SPARED FEMALE SCORN//CANNIBALISM

Many male octopi must beware of being killed and eaten by their mates, but the Larger Pacific Striped Octopi mate “beak to beak,” leading to both partners having an equal level of vulnerability. A mating couple even share the load of housework, as scientists have seen them cleaning waste out of their living spaces. Also, the female of this new species doesn’t die after laying her eggs, as many other female octopi do.

QUESTIONABLE OBJECTIVITY

However, all of these activities were observed in captivity, and so the behavior of this species of octopi could be very different in the wild. Some features are unmistakeable, though. When this new species of octopus gets excited or upset, it changes from its original dull brown color to stripes and spots.

To review other news on Octopi, let’s reconsider that the journal Nature just published the first comprehensive map of the octopus genetic code, which is only slightly smaller than humans. Octopi are invertebrates, and generally the lack of backbone spells doom to any hope of a complex central nervous system. However, for octopi, the lack of backbone just leaves their nervous system hyper-connected, like Vietnamese powerlines.

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The #Octopus will never cease to remain. What comes out of studying their #genetics? - http://clapway.com/2015/08/12/octopus-genome-reveals-the-roots-to-its-brilliance-356/

Octopuses may evoke a variety of reactions in us — fascination, awe, and even fear — but boredom is certainly not one of them. The genome of this eight-armed marvel with camera-like eyes has recently been sequenced. It brings out some surprising revelations.

The importance of sequencing the octopus genome

The genome-sequencing project published in Nature was carried out by researchers from the University of Chicago, the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Heidelberg in Germany and the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology in Japan. The target animal for this initiative was the California two-spot octopus, or the Octopus bimaculoides. Both the genome and the multiple transcriptomes (products of the genome) were studied.

A member of the phylum Mollusca, which also houses other sea creatures like squid and cuttlefish, octopuses are blessed with unique behavioral and predatory characteristics. The objective of the study was to delineate the molecular basis for this superior intellectual ability.

The octopus has a bigger genome than most of its cousins

The size of the octopus genome is almost as big as that of a human, and much bigger than its relatives, like oysters or clams. Contrary to previous belief, this tremendous increase in size is not due to genome duplication, but due to expansion of a few specific gene families that were initially thought to be enlarged only in vertebrates. One such gene group is called the protocadherins, which supervises the development of neurons, and how they communicate with each other. The number of genes belonging to this family is more than twice that of mammals, which could explain the large size of the octopus brain and its strange anatomy. It also accounts for how octopuses can learn and remember complex tasks, like unscrewing a jar to prey on a crab stuck inside it.

We now know what makes octopuses change shape and color

The researchers found the expansion of another gene family called the zinc-finger transcription factors, hundreds of which were unique to the octopus, and were concentrated in its suckers, neural tissues and skin. These transcription factors play an important role in development, and are also thought to contribute to the camouflage and deception that are commonly seen in an octopus.

Along with the expansion of two major gene families, many other minor genes were identified that could have bestowed upon the octopus, its singular morphology and intelligence.

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Octopus Genome Reveals the Roots to Its Brilliance