The official DOOM octopus thread

[Drunk Monk]

Octopuses Could Soon Get Same Legal Protections As Monkeys In US Research
by Hasan
Octopuses, squids, and their cephalopod kin may soon find themselves receiving the same legal protections in the United States as other animals commonly employed in scientific research, such as monkeys and rodents. A recent call for information by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) signals a potential shift in policy, marking a crucial step towards recognizing the intelligence and sentience of these remarkable creatures.
The existing dilemma lies in the fact that cephalopods currently fall outside the scope of most animal welfare regulations, leaving researchers without any obligation to provide these beings, which include octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish, with basic care such as tranquilizers or anesthetics during experiments. Astoundingly, cephalopods aren’t even formally acknowledged as animals under the current regulatory framework.
They may be mollusks, but cephalopods are no slugs.  Image credit: Shpatak/Shutterstock.com
One of the central challenges in extending protection to cephalopods is understanding the profound structural differences in their nervous systems compared to other animals, particularly vertebrates like mammals and birds. Octopuses, for instance, boast a donut-shaped brain in their head, complemented by eight distinct “mini-brains” within each tentacle.
However, despite these stark anatomical distinctions, it’s increasingly evident that cephalopods possess highly complex nervous systems. A growing body of scientific evidence suggests that these creatures are not only intelligent but also sensitive, potentially even exhibiting a form of self-awareness. The acclaimed documentary “My Octopus Teacher” and similar works have further challenged prevailing assumptions about the cognitive capacities of invertebrates.
Under new guidelines proposed by the NIH, octopuses used in research could receive the same protections as monkeys.  BarbAnna/Getty Images; Hal Beral/Getty Images
The NIH’s request for information acknowledges these cognitive intricacies, stating, “A growing body of evidence demonstrates that cephalopods possess many of the requisite biological mechanisms for the perception of pain, such as nociceptors and a centralized nervous system. In addition, it has been shown that cephalopods exhibit adaptive learning, alter their behavior in response to noxious stimuli, and exhibit mammalian-like responses to anesthetics.”
However, it also acknowledges the unique structural and functional organization of cephalopod nervous systems, emphasizing the need for further research to comprehensively grasp cephalopod perception.
Advocacy for cephalopod protection extends beyond the scientific community. Massachusetts Congressman Seth Moulton and 18 other federal lawmakers, in a bipartisan letter to the NIH and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), called for improved safeguards for these creatures. Their letter highlights the inconsistency in treatment, especially considering that cephalopods are increasingly used in laboratory research funded by taxpayer dollars.
Image Credit :K A STUDIO/Shutterstock
The letter reads, “Cephalopods are increasingly being used in laboratory research across the country, funded by taxpayer revenue. However, because they are currently not considered ‘animals’ under the Public Health Service Policy, these incredibly intelligent animals are being denied basic humane treatment with no avenue for accountability.”
The suggested action would align the United States with numerous other countries and governmental bodies that already afford humane treatment to cephalopods in government-funded research. These countries include Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland, Norway, and the European Union.

The United Kingdom, in 2021, took a significant step by incorporating cephalopod mollusks, such as octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish, into its Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill, officially recognizing them as “sentient beings.” This recognition marked an important milestone in acknowledging the unique cognitive capacities of cephalopods.
As discussions continue and policies evolve, it becomes increasingly evident that cephalopods, once overlooked, are finally gaining the legal protections that their remarkable intelligence and sentience merit.

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

Had dinner at a Peruvian cevicheria last Saturday. The octopus was very tender.

[thatguy]

—tg

[Drunk Monk]

• 04 March 2024
  

Oldest known animal sex chromosome evolved in octopuses 380 million years ago
Result reveals for the first time how some cephalopods determine sex.

• By 
• Carissa Wong
  

The California two-spot octopus (Octopus bimaculoides) has one or two copies of chromosome 17, depending on its sex.Credit: Norbert Wu/Minden Pictures via Alamy
Researchers have found the oldest known sex chromosome in animals — the octopus Z chromosome — which first evolved in an ancient ancestor of octopuses around 380 million years ago. The findings1 answer a long-standing question about how sexual development is directed in the group of sea creatures that includes octopuses and squid.
“We stumbled upon probably the oldest animal sex chromosome known to date,” says evolutionary geneticist Andrew Kern at the University of Oregon in Eugene. “Sex determination in cephalopods, such as squids and octopi, was a mystery — we found the first evidence that genes are in any way involved.”
In many animals, including most mammals and some insects, sex chromosomes determine whether an individual becomes male or female. In humans, females usually have two X sex chromosomes, and males typically have one X and one Y sex chromosome. But for some animal groups, such as cephalopods — which include soft-bodied animals such as squids and octopuses, as well as hard-shelled creatures called nautiluses — researchers have been unsure about how individuals become male or female. Scientists generally thought that environmental factors such as temperature play a part — as they do for some reptiles and fish.

Catching Zs
In 2015, researchers reported2 sequencing a cephalopod genome for the first time — that of a male California two-spot octopus, Octopus bimaculoides. In the latest study1, Kern and his colleagues mapped the genome of a female California two-spot octopus. They discovered 29 pairs of chromosomes and one single chromosome, called chromosome 17. By contrast, the male octopus genome had two copies of chromosome 17. That difference led the researchers to hypothesize that chromosome 17 was a sex chromosome.
Sequencing the DNA of other O. bimaculoides octopuses confirmed the idea. Males always had two copies of chromosome 17, whereas females had one copy. Chromosome 17 also contained several genes similar to those that encode proteins in human reproductive tissues, including a protein found in sperm. In animals including birds and butterflies, males similarly have two Z sex chromosomes, whereas females have one Z and one W sex chromosome.
“It very much looked like we were looking at a Z chromosome in O. bimaculoides,” says Kern. But the researchers failed to find a W chromosome in the female octopuses. That suggested that males have ZZ sex chromosomes, whereas females are ZO, with the O denoting the lack of a W chromosome.
Well conserved
The team also found Z chromosomes in some other octopus and squid species — but not in a nautilus.
“This pattern suggests that the Z chromosome evolved once in the lineage that led to modern squid and octopuses — after this lineage split off from hard-shelled nautiloids,” says Kern. This means the Z chromosome first appeared between 450 million and 250 million years ago and has been retained to the present day, he says. Previously, the oldest known animal sex chromosome was thought to have evolved in sturgeon fish about 180 million years ago3.
This chromosome is profoundly evolutionarily conserved, says Matthias Stöck, an evolutionary geneticist at the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries in Berlin.
“The data presented in this paper definitely suggests that cephalopods have among the oldest sex chromosomes in both animals and plants,” says Sarah Carey, who studies the evolution of sex chromosomes at the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology in Huntsville, Alabama. “This is such a cool time to be working on the genetics of sex chromosomes.”
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-00637-0
References

1. Coffing., G. C. et al. Preprint at bioRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.02.21.581452 (2024).
   
2. Albertin, C. B. et al. Nature 524, 220–224 (2015).
   Article PubMed Google Scholar 
   
3. Kuhl, H. et al. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 376, 20200089 (2021).
   Article PubMed Google Scholar 
   

Yeah, that figures.