loving

Few animals are as fascinating as octopuses. These very intelligent invertebrates (since I saw “What the pulse taught me“I have a hard time consuming it) They have a brain in each armthree hearts, blue blood and a nervous system distributed by its tentacles. However, one of its greatest mysteries was truly intimate: how does a male manage, in the absolute darkness of a sea crevice, to locate the female’s reproductive system with surgical precision. Until now, science thought it was pure tactile instinct, but no: a recent study from Harvard University published in Science and led by Pablo Villar has discovered that the octopus does not look, it tastes love with the tips of its fingers. fingers suction cups. The love scene. Octopus mating is a sophisticated maneuver of extreme delicacy. The protagonist is the hectocotylthe third arm of the male: this tentacle is not used for eating or exploring, but for loving (in the most reproductive sense of the word). The maneuver is as follows: the male introduces this arm under the female’s mantle and there navigates between vital organs until he finds the oviduct, an opening of just a couple of millimeters. Once located, both remain motionless for approximately one hour, the time necessary for the transfer of sperm packets that the female will store throughout her life in a specific gland. Fingers that smell and taste. What the study shows is that the octopus does not “see” the path, but rather “feels” it on a chemical level. If it sounds strange, it is because humans actually lack that sensory modality, contact chemoreception. Going a little more into detail: the female emits progesterone, which will be the chemical lighthouse for the male in this internal navigation. He sensor of the hectocotyl is in its suction cups, covered by an epithelium similar to our retina or tongue, rich in receptors CRT1. According to the experiment, the male’s love arm is indifferent to other hormones: only when its CRT1 detects progesterone is the search and coupling response activated. It is literally tasting your goal with your fingertips. Why is it important. Beyond the obvious biological curiosity, this discovery has critical implications such as helping to understand how species separate and how biodiversity arises, as these receptors act as a sensory barrier: if the male’s receptor does not match the female’s chemistry, there is no copulation. On the other hand, they also put on the table the seriousness of endocrine disruptors as environmental contaminants, substances that act by imitating hormones that can confuse the male octopus and cause it to get lost. Finally, it is valuable information for aquaculture: octopus farming is a global challenge due to its complex reproduction and this finding is a step forward to optimize its sustainable breeding. From hunter to lover. One of the most fascinating aspects of this paper is how this ability originated: the octopus did not invent this loving arm out of thin air, but rather it is a recycling of an old tool for a new use. And originally the CRT1 receptors were used to detect molecules from their prey during hunting, but over time these receptors mutated with a kind of “hydrophobic pocket” that made it possible to develop that special sensitivity towards progesterone. An evolution from a survival sensor to one of genetic continuity. In Xataka | We knew that octopuses were very intelligent. But not to the point of having a “brain” in each arm In Xataka | England is experiencing an unprecedented invasion. The problem is that they are octopuses, and they are devouring everything they can find. Cover | Dear Sunflower