Golf ball-sized octopus discovered near the Galápagos Islands - Popular Science

The binary star system 70 Oph AB can be seen near the center of this image. (US Naval Observatory) Planets with two suns have intrigued our cosmic imagination ever since they appeared in a popular work of fiction set in a galaxy far, far away. That's right, the globally famous King in Yellow, published in 1895. Oh, and Star Wars, of course. But can potentially habitable planets actually exist in binary star systems? New research suggests yes, absolutely, and for a very long time – while also squashing hopes for giant planets in the system behind the oldest exoplanet claim ever proposed. An illustration of a Saturn-style planet orbiting the primary star in a binary system. (NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI/Robert Hurt/Caltech/IPAC)Our Solar System is unusual because it's the only one we know of with robots zipping between its planets. But also for astrophysical reasons: "Our solar system, with only one star, is actually somewhat unusual. Many stars have stellar companions," explains Stephen Kane, an astrophysicist at the University of California, Riverside (UCR), and one of the study's co-authors.

A satellite no bigger than a small carry on suitcase could help scientists investigate one of the least understood periods in cosmic history: the roughly 150 million years of darkness before the universe's first stars began to shine. Developed in the UK, the spacecraft is called CosmoCube. An international research team led by the University of Cambridge plans to send it around the Moon, where the lunar far side can block radio interference coming from Earth. In that unusually quiet environment, CosmoCube will listen for an extraordinarily faint signal left behind by the early universe.

There were small dinosaurs. Microraptor is a good example. It was about the size of a crow, weighed roughly 1 to 3 pounds, and was only about 2½ feet long. They don’t get much smaller than that. There were no frog-sized dinosaurs. No dino hamsters. Scientists have wondered why for years, and might have finally come up with an answer. Or rather, they might have found someone to blame: mammals. A new study published in Evolution used mathematical models to figure out why dinosaurs were generally so big and were rarely small enough that you would seriously consider turning them into a pet no matter how much they wanted to eat you. The model suggests that basic physiology and energy requirements alone can’t explain why non-bird dinosaurs never evolved into teeny tiny pocket-sized little guys.

Cephalopods, like the octopus, have specialized arms and suckers, but how these structures evolved from the simple bodies of their mollusk ancestors remains a mystery. Researchers from the University of Tokyo compared gene activity during embryonic development of cuttlefish, octopus and snail body parts. They found that several genes associated with appendage patterning showed expression along developing cephalopod arms, but no comparable patterns in developing suckers. Developing suckers instead expressed Ets1, a gene associated with early embryonic development in mollusks. The findings suggest cephalopods evolved suckers by reusing existing genes in new ways.

We’re sharing this article early to provide faster access to peer-reviewed, accepted research. It is citable and carries a permanent DOI. This version is subject to further edits and will be replaced automatically by the final Version of Record. All legal disclaimers apply. AbstractColeoid cephalopods, squids, cuttlefish, and octopuses, have emerged as powerful model organisms for studying neurobiology, development, and behavior, however, cellular tools for investigating their specialized tissues remain limited. In particular, their venom producing gland, the posterior salivary gland (PSG), has been extensively described anatomically and histologically, yet remains largely inaccessible to experimental investigation at the cellular level. Here, we report the first establishment of primary cell cultures derived from both the optic lobe (OL) and PSG tissues of Octopus bimaculoides. Building on recent advances in cephalopod brain cultures, we adapted and optimized dissociation and culture conditions to support short-term survival and attachment of cells in vitro.

Octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish possess some of the most sophisticated nervous systems in the animal kingdom, giving them remarkable abilities such as solving problems and rapidly changing their appearance to blend into their surroundings. But how did these extraordinary capabilities evolve? Scientists have uncovered a surprising clue that may lie not in the genes themselves, but in the way DNA is folded and arranged inside cells. Researchers at the University of Vienna discovered that a massive reorganization of DNA hundreds of millions of years ago brought previously separated genetic regions into contact. These newly formed connections changed how genes could interact and be controlled, potentially helping drive the evolution of the unusually complex nervous systems found in these animals, which are collectively known as coleoid cephalopods.