Cephalopods

Recent articles

Judit Pungor and Angelique Allen stand in front of a saltwater tank.

Cephalopods, vision’s next frontier

For decades, scientists have been teased by the strange but inaccessible cephalopod visual system. Now, thanks to a technological breakthrough from a lab in Oregon, data are finally coming straight from the octopus brain.

By Calli McMurray
27 May 2025 | 14 min listen
Different colored file folders.

Protocol-sharing site aims to ease administrative burden of animal research

The library of regulatory-compliant animal procedures offers experimental standards and specific language that researchers can borrow for their own legal paperwork.

By Calli McMurray
29 January 2025 | 4 min read

Octopus arm anatomy, molecular makeup revealed in new maps

The datasets provide “a very nice reference” for future functional studies.

By Calli McMurray
25 September 2024 | 1 min watch
Photograph of a cuttlefish underwater.

Knowledge gaps in cephalopod care could stall welfare standards

The U.S. National Institutes of Health wants to regulate research involving cephalopods. But there aren’t enough rigorous studies to base the regulations on, veteran cephalopod researchers say.

By Calli McMurray
13 March 2024 | 10 min listen

Explore more from The Transmitter

Research image of organoids from autistic people.

Altered visual processing in a mouse model of fragile X syndrome; and more

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 16 June.

By Jill Adams
17 June 2025 | 2 min read
Illustration of a fly in various poses.

This paper changed my life: Bradley Dickerson on how a 1940s fly neuroanatomy paper influences his research to this day

This classic paper by zoologist John Pringle describes the haltere—a small structure in flies that plays a crucial role in flight control. It taught me to think about circuits and behavior as greater than the sum of their parts.

By Bradley Dickerson
17 June 2025 | 5 min listen
Hundred dollar bill digitally cut into small pieces.

NIH cuts quash $323 million for neuroscience research and training

“I am frightened for the state of the future of our field if this isn't reversed rapidly,” says Joshua Gordon, professor of psychiatry at Columbia University and former director of the National Institute of Mental Health.

By Claudia López Lloreda
16 June 2025 | 8 min read