Great piece on octopus ribosomes — and on the importance of following unexpected observations and looking in new places to find new things :) current.fas.harvard.edu/stories/octo...

Final version out! Now with amazing illustrations from the very talented Lily Soucy :) www.cell.com/current-biol...

How did octopuses evolve novel traits? Rishav Mitra, Richard Han, Trey Scott, et al serendipitously discover a unique ribosome adaptation that increases the accuracy of protein synthesis and evolved alongside their elaborate nervous systems vs deep sea relatives. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

How did animal senses evolve? Max Coyle et al. used choanoflagellates to uncover TRPW, ancient ion channels predating animal somatosensory receptors. TRPW links microbial prey ecology to evolution of receptor structure, sensory organelles, & multicellular processing. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

with nice perspective from Anna Di Cosmo: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Pablo Villar et al discover male octopus mating arms are sensory organs used to find females, navigate internally to the oviduct & deliver sperm. From behavior to structure, these findings offer a framework for how sensory systems shape reproduction & species barriers www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Wendy Valencia-Montoya and team uncover thermal infrared as one of the most ancient pollination signals uniting plants and animals. From the field to single proteins. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Sea slugs steal foreign chloroplasts for photosynthesis and starvation resistance. Photo by Anik Grearson. #evolution #symbiosis. #cellbiology. @cellpress.bsky.social

Octopuses sense environmental microbiomes to drive predatory and parental behaviors. Artwork by Lily Soucy. #evolution #sensation #microbiome @cellpress.bsky.social

Corey Allard and Amy Lee discuss curious "solar-powered" animals that steal and maintain foreign chloroplasts for photosynthesis and starvation resistance. @harvardcellbio.bsky.social, @danafarbernews.bsky.social. news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...

Corey Allard et al asks how “solar-powered” slugs maintain stolen chloroplasts from their diet for photosynthesis and starvation resistance. @cellpress.bsky.social, @harvardmcb.bsky.social, @harvardmed.bsky.social www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

Microbiomes shape our biology from gut-brain, skin, immunology, and more. Here, Rebecka Sepela et al explores octopus “taste by touch” sensation to ask how environmental microbiomes drive animal behavior. @cellpress.bsky.social, @mblscience.bsky.social www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...