Celebrating Cephalopods

Mimic Octopus (credit: American Museum of Natural History)

Cephalopod Week is celebrated each year and is returning again soon.

The shape shifting marine creatures include octopus, cuttlefish, squid, and chambered nautiluses. Most have skins that are covered with chemo-sensitive suckers, color-altering pigments, and bodies with brains that can stretch their physical abilities. They are like space aliens already living here on Earth. Understanding how these sea creatures can mimic and adapt to their surroundings offer numerous opportunities for bio-mimicry applications ranging from medical adhesives, to new fabrics, and delightfully animated movie characters.

People have rightly praised the documentary, My Octopus Teacher which is nominated for an Academy Award this year. It is time to pay closer attention to the wonders of the marine world. Cephalopods are another example of how little we know about life on this planet. WHB

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