octopuses Archives - usatoday24

The United Kingdom is experiencing a new invasion. The problem is that they are octopuses and they are devouring everything they can find.

June 11, 2026 by usatoday24

When explorer John Cabot returned from Newfoundland in 1497, assured who had found seas so full of fish that they could captured with simple baskets weighted with stones. That abundance seemed inexhaustible, but more than five centuries later, British waters are once again starring in a story of marine overpopulation, although with very different protagonists. An unexpected invasion. For decades, encountering a common octopus off the coast of south-west England was a rare event for even the most experienced divers. However, in just a few years the situation has changed. radically. What started as a striking increase of sightings has become the largest population explosion of octopuses recorded in at least 75 years. The animals have colonized extensive areas of the British coast, expanding from Devon and Cornwall to Wales, Dorset, Sussex and even Scotland, becoming one of the most surprising marine phenomena that the United Kingdom has experienced in recent times. Perfect weather and conditions. Scientists believe that this expansion is the result of several factors that have coincided at the same time. The juvenile octopuses probably arrived from breeding areas around the English Channel and northern France, but the real difference has been the progressive warming of British waters. Mild winters and warmer breeding seasons have allowed them to survive in much greater numbers and, more importantly, to begin to reproduce successfully in UK waters. The appearance of juvenile specimens confirms that they are no longer simply occasional visitors, but rather a population capable of completing their entire life cycle on these coasts. The big losers. The massive arrival of octopuses is having devastating consequences for part of the traditional fishing. These animals are extraordinarily efficient predators and consume huge quantities of seafood every day. Fishermen began finding empty traps, missing lobsters and ruined catches. In some areas, those who depended on crustacean fishing have seen plummets in between 70% and 100% of their catches. In fact, some businesses have closed and some owners have even sold their boats. The researchers they calculate that octopuses are consuming tons of seafood daily, altering a food chain that had been functioning relatively stable for decades. The same plague that ruins some enriches others. The paradox is that the crisis has also generated an economic opportunity unexpected. Where lobsters and crabs were once caught, octopuses now abound. Many fishermen have quickly adapted their gear and have begun to catch them to supply a growing demand in European markets. The result has been spectacular. Brixham recently sold more than 100 tons of octopus in a single day, generating more than half a million pounds in sales. Some professionals claim that they are obtaining income several times higher than what they achieved with traditional fishing, causing a real fever to catch octopuses along the coast. A reorganized ecosystem. The phenomenon goes far beyond the fishing economy. Octopuses are profoundly altering the relationships between species. While they consume large quantities of crustaceans and mollusks, they have also become food for seals, conger eels and Risso’s dolphins. The researchers describe the situation as a complete reconfiguration of the marine ecosystem, a process in which each change triggers new ones. The feeling among scientists is that British waters are going through a period of ecological transition in which the rules that seemed established for generations are no longer valid. The big difference from previous invasions. Although similar population explosions were already recorded at the beginning of the 20th century, in the 1930s and 1950s, researchers believe that this time the situation can be different. In previous episodes, the octopuses ended up disappearing when conditions changed again. Now, however, winters cold enough to drastically reduce their populations have been going on for more than a decade without production. Evidence of local reproduction and the presence of young specimens suggest that octopuses may have ceased to be occasional visitors and become permanent inhabitants of British coasts. Preparing for a new reality. The magnitude of the phenomenon is already forcing the authorities to react. In Cornwall, for example, they study emergency restrictions to limit the number of boats dedicated to capturing octopuses for fear of excessive exploitation of a population that, paradoxically, seemed inexhaustible just a few months ago. Meanwhile, scientists, fishermen and resource managers are trying to understand what this transformation really means. The big lesson is that ocean warming not only changes temperatures or currents, but can change them completely. who dominates an ecosystem. And on British shores, the new protagonists seem to be animals that until very recently were a rarity and that are now devouring everything in their path. Careful, Galicia. Image | prilfishPixabay In Xataka | We knew that octopuses were very intelligent. But not to the point of having a “brain” in each arm In Xataka | The most intimate secret of octopuses: their ‘loving arm’ not only fertilizes, it also tastes the female

We knew that octopuses were very intelligent. But not to the point of having a “brain” in each arm

May 14, 2026 by usatoday24

Octopuses are invertebrate animals, but the absence of a central nervous system like that of birds or mammals does not make their brains less interesting than the rest. Brains, emphasizing the plural since neuronal systems of each of its extremities They have a degree of independence, which leads many to consider them as such. A nervous system not at all central. In January 2025, a group of researchers has studied the nervous systems of these cephalopods to better understand how these nine neural organs operate together and to what extent they maintain their independence. What they observed is that each of these brains had the ability to operate individually. The team responsible for the study believes that it is thanks to the unique segmentation of the nervous system of octopuses that these animals achieve the level of skill in the management of extremely flexible organs that serve these animals to move, feed, sense their environment, and even copulate. “If you are going to have a nervous system that is going to control such dynamic movement, that is a good way to organize it,” explained in a press release Clifton Ragsdale, co-author of the study. “We think it’s a feature that evolved specifically in soft-bodied cephalopods with suction cups to carry out these worm-like movements.” Studying segmentation. The study focused on segmentation of this curious neuronal system, analyzing the distribution and function of the neurons in these arms, taking as reference an octopus of the species Octopus bimaculatus. Neurons that together add up to a greater number than the neurons located in the “central brain” of the animal, which is responsible for coordinating actions that require the use of various arms. These neurons in the extremities are concentrated, explains the teaminto an axial nerve chord (ANC), which “snakes” the limb to each of the animal’s suction cups. Neural columns. The ANC analysis showed that neurons in the octopus’s limbs were grouped into “columns” that in turn formed segments that the team compared to corrugated pipes. The segments were in turn separated by gaps called “septa” from which nerves and blood vessels made their way to the muscles of the limb. “From a modeling perspective, the best way to organize a control system for this long and flexible arm would be to divide it into segments,” Cassady Olson added.co-author of the study. “There must be some kind of communication between the segments, which you can imagine attenuates their movements.” Job details can be found in an article published in the magazine Nature Communications. Much to investigate. In fact, a subsequent joint study between Florida Atlantic University and the Marine Biological Laboratory analyzed 4,000 arm movements, captured on video, from three different species and came to a surprising conclusion: although all arms can perform any movement, according to his research, the front arms are used for exploration, while the rear arms are used for everything that has to do with movement. The arms of octopuses are very versatile limbs that allow this animal to navigate the seabed, but also, through their suction cups, allow these octopods to perceive the world around them, hunt and feed on their prey. Knowing the details of the functioning of such complex limbs will still require new research. In Xataka | Octopuses are not aliens, and scientists have had to come out to explain why Image | Theasereje, CC BY-SA 4.0 This article was originally published in 2025, but we have updated it with new information

The perovskite had been failing inside for years. The solution was in the octopuses

February 1, 2026 by usatoday24

For more than a decade, perovskite cells have been the great promise—and great frustration—of clean energy. In the laboratory they already compete with silicon, but they always failed in the same way: they degraded too quickly. Now, a discovery breaks with what is established. The solution has not come from a complex industrial machine, but from a molecule that octopuses and squid have been using for millions of years to protect themselves from chemical damage. The sabotage that comes from within. According to the study published in Advanced Energy Materialsthe problem is not just air or humidity, but a chemical reaction that is activated within the device itself. When sunlight hits the perovskite, highly energetic electrons are generated. These electrons can react with residual oxygen trapped during manufacturing—a process typically performed in air—to form superoxide radicals (O₂·⁻), extremely reactive chemical species. These radicals attack the organic cations that keep the perovskite crystalline structure stable, initiating its decomposition. The entry point. The damage does not begin on the visible surface of the panel, but in a key region known as the buried interface, the point of contact between the perovskite and the tin dioxide (SnO₂) layer, responsible for extracting the electrons generated by light. As emphasized Nanowerknot even the best external encapsulation can stop this process: oxygen is already present inside the device from the first moment. To further complicate the problem, tin dioxide itself contains oxygen-rich defects that, under illumination and heat, migrate into the perovskite and accelerate its degradation from within. Taurine to the rescue. Faced with this scenario, the team of researchers from the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology and the Korea Institute of Science and Technology opted for an unusual route in photovoltaic development: seeking inspiration in biology. The answer came in the form of an ultrathin layer of taurine, a sulfur amino acid present in octopuses, squid and other marine organisms. According to Interesting Engineeringin nature taurine protects cells from oxidative damage, just the same type of threat that was degrading perovskites. Located at the interface between tin dioxide and perovskite, the molecule functions as a smart chemical shield. A defense cycle that does not end. The study details, based on density functional theory (DFT) calculations and laboratory experiments, a two-step protection mechanism that is especially relevant. First, taurine intercepts superoxide radicals as they form. Its chemical structure, called zwitterionic—with positive and negative charges in different parts of the molecule—allows it to electrostatically attract these radicals and convert them into hydrogen peroxide, a much less aggressive species for perovskite. Secondly, the process addresses an additional problem: the molecular iodine generated during the degradation of the material. This iodine tends to form compounds that further accelerate the collapse of the structure. Taurine reduces that iodine back to iodide ions, chemically stable and much less harmful. Most notable, as Nanowerk points outis that after completing these reactions, taurine is regenerated. It is not consumed or degraded in the process, but rather returns to its original state, creating a closed radical neutralization cycle that can be repeated throughout the operational life of the device. From theory to real power. The benefits are not limited to durability. The presence of taurine also improves the electrical functioning of the cell. By chemically binding to both tin dioxide and perovskite, it acts as a molecular bridge that reduces defects at the interface, those small sinks where electrons are lost as heat. In practice, this translates into fewer electronic defects, nearly doubled electron mobility in the tin dioxide layer, and charges that survive longer. The best device achieved efficiency 24.8%, with 1.18 volts in open circuit and a high fill factor. Figures very close to current records, but with an important difference: it lasts much longer. In stability tests, taurine-treated cells retained 97% of their efficiency after 450 hours of continuous operation at 65°C. Under real ambient conditions, they maintained 80% of their performance for more than 130 hours, more than five times longer than conventional cells subjected to the same tests. The story has some scientific irony. While industry refined increasingly complex solutions, biology had already been solving the same problem for millions of years. If this strategy can be scaled and adapted to industrial manufacturing, the future of solar energy could depend as much on engineering as it does on biology. Sometimes, to move towards the Sun, it is enough to look at the bottom of the sea. Image | Unsplash and freepik Xataka | The dark side of solar energy: we are creating a 250 million ton mountain of garbage

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