Octopi are actually Aliens

[stomachmonkey]

Don't freak out, but scientists think octopuses 'might be aliens' after DNA study | Irish Examiner

Not to send you into a meltdown or anything but octopuses are basically ‘aliens’ – according to scientists. Researchers have found a new map of the octopus genetic code that is so strange that it could be actually be an “alien”. The first whole cephalopod genome sequence shows a striking level of complexity with 33,000 protein-coding genes identified – more than in a human. Not only that, the octopus DNA is highly rearranged – like cards shuffled and reshuffled in a pack – containing numerous so-called “jumping genes” that can leap around 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,” said US researcher Dr Clifton Ragsdale, 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.” The scientists sequenced the genome of the California two-spot octopus in a study published in the journal Nature. They discovered unique genetic traits that are likely to have played a key role in the evolution of characteristics such as the complex nervous system and adaptive camouflage. Analysis of 12 different tissues revealed hundreds of octopus-specific genes found in no other animal, many of them highly active in structures such as the brain, skin and suckers.

The scientists estimate that the two-spot octopus genome contains 2.7 billion base pairs – the chemical units of DNA – with long stretches of repeated sequences. And although the genome is slightly smaller than a human’s, it is packed with more genes.

Reshuffling was a key characteristic of the creature’s genetic make-up. In most species, cohorts of certain genes tend to be close together on the double-helix DNA molecule. A gene is a region of DNA that contains the coded instructions for making a protein. In the octopus, however, there are no such groupings of genes with related functions. For instance, Hox genes – which control body plan development – cluster together in almost all animals but are scattered throughout the octopus genome.

It was as if the octopus genome had been “put into a blender and mixed”, said co-author Caroline Albertin, also from the University of Chicago.

[kach22i]

Octopus from Mars?

[cgarr]

They are delicious

[Jim Richards]

Aliens are chewy.

[ossiblue]

Maybe not an octopus, but related...

[sc_rufctr]

[GH85Carrera]

This is alien life in my mind:

Epic Discovery: NASA Finds New Non-DNA Based Life Form -To Be Annouced at 2 pm EST

An octopus is still made up of standard DNA just like (almost) every other living thing on the planet.

[Crowbob]

I'm thinking anything that starts with 'octo-' is alien.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

I knew it!

[GH85Carrera]

Well in California now the law says you can't use the term Alien. The are just undocumented!

[BlueSkyJaunte]

An Irish news service reporting on a study done by Americans on extra-terrestrials that are eaten by the Italians and Japanese.

Now I've seen everything.

[sand_man]

Do lesser intelligent squidbillies count?

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

I knew it!

He's got a board.....with a nail in it!

[Bugsinrugs]

This is ironic. I was listening to NPR on science Friday. They has a researcher from the Steinhart aquarium in San Francisco and he thought the same thing. No other creature is as alien like. Interesting segment.

[Nostril Cheese]

Dont blame me, I voted for Kodos.

[fred cook]

Maybe the octopus is from earth and humans are from space! Of course, if the octopus is the alien, that would explain "USOs" (under sea objects)!

[quicksix]

I, for one, welcome our new octopode overlords.
Do they eat lion?

[M.D. Holloway]

Spiders are a darn close second...