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posted by on Monday April 10 2017, @06:11AM   Printer-friendly
from the CRISPR-for-the-tentacled-set dept.

https://news.uchicago.edu/article/2017/04/07/smart-cephalopods-adapt-editing-genes-sacrifice-ability-evolve

Octopus, squid and cuttlefish are famous for engaging in complex behavior, from unlocking and escaping from an aquarium tank to instantaneous skin camouflage to hide from predators. A new study suggests their evolutionary path to neural sophistication includes a novel mechanism: Prolific RNA editing at the expense of evolution in their genomic DNA.

Liscovitch-Brauer, et al. (2017) Trade-off between transcriptome plasticity and genome evolution in cephalopods. Cell DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2017.03.025.

[Ed. Note: The wikipedia page on RNA editing is unclear unless you have some experience with biology. The New York Times does a better job of explaining what it is for the layman.]


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  • (Score: 2, Funny) by Scruffy Beard 2 on Monday April 10 2017, @06:16AM

    by Scruffy Beard 2 (6030) on Monday April 10 2017, @06:16AM (#491517)

    Cuttlefish [xkcd.com]

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