A new study has revealed data that links octopus' genetic make-up with aliens, making scientists think that the molluscs are basically extra-terrestrial beings. Published in the journal Nature, the study was conducted by scientists who sequenced the genome of a California two-spot octopus.
A new map of the species' genetic code baffled scientists so much that they think the creatures could actually be aliens. Scientists were able to identify a remarkable complexity level of 33,000 protein-coding genes in the first genome sequence of a whole cephalopod. This, according to the researchers, are more than what is in a human's.
In addition, the scientists discovered the octopus DNA to be highly rearranged, much akin to a pack of cards shuffled and reshuffled. The DNA reportedly contains hundreds, even thousands of so-called "jumping genes" that can amazingly leap from everywhere in the genome.
"The octopus appears to be utterly different from all other animals, even other molluscs, with its eight prehensile arms, its large brain and its clever problem-solving abilities," according to Dr. Clifton Ragsdale, a US researcher from the University of Chicago.
"The late British zoologist Martin Wells said the octopus is an alien. In this sense, then, our paper describes the first sequenced genome from an alien," he added.
The team of researchers discovered the octopus' unique genetic traits which was likely essential to the species' evolution and its striking characteristics such as its adaptive camouflage abilities, according to The Irish Examiner.
The scientists analysed 12 different tissues of the octopus, which revealed hundreds, if not thousands of octopus-specific genes unlike any other animal. The genes were found to be highly active in arrangements like the skin, its suckers and the brain. The creatures were also found to be quite smart, with the researchers finding evidence that they are able to utilize complex problem solving and observational learning, reported ars technica.
However, since there is yet a study which managed to do octopus genetic breeding, the researchers cannot speculate what the octopus' complex genes might be doing. Since octopus lineages have reportedly diverged over 270 million years ago, there is a massive chance that some of the sea creature's genes are unique.
In other octopus-related news, a new research published in the journal PLOS ONE have found the Pacific striped octopus to have the most good-mannered characteristics of any specie in the ocean, according to The Telegraph. In handling prey, other cephalopods grab and tackle with aggression, but with the Pacific striped octopus, the creature simply taps gently on its prey's shoulder and startles it into its arms.
