You did your exercises while Kim, Paul and
the boys were on the beach then you and Carol joined them at the pool a bit
later. Lunch at nearby Dockside Dave’s and Linda arrived to chat with Carol.
The boys took a nap while Kim and Paul headed to the hospital, as he had been
stung on the foot by a stingray as he left the Gulf for the pool. He had to
have a tetanus shot and X-rays to make sure no barbs were left in his foot,
which hurt quite a bit. All is better tonight. The thoughts of packing have
begun. Tomorrow morning is for the beach and pool one last time, then they
opted for Conch Republic for lunch. They will leave for the airport from there
and be home about suppertime. Gayle’s husband, Ralph, is not doing well but at
least he is now more comfortable in his long and labored six-month hospital
stay. Mary Lou arrives Monday night and Linda and Bill are having a barbeque
Monday evening after she arrives through next Saturday. You and Carol plan to
leave the Sunday or Monday after next. Linda will arrive in Westerville in
about a month for the Cook reunion and stay at your house for a couple of weeks
after that. – Amorella
1935
hours. The beach was not so busy today but Kim and Paul had made acquaintances
with three other younger women and their husbands and their small children who
Carol and I met at the pool today. Funny thing – they were part of the crowd I
was observing the other day and my offhand remark at the conclusion of the post
was correct – they are all related and three of the young men are brothers or
cousins. So, there was no romance brewing – all in my imagination. I have a lot
of imagination and should know better to make any speculations whatsoever,
except the offhand comment which in times of experience, are correct. This is
not a complaint, just more observation. When in doubt assume whatever I say is
imagination unfettered by reams of nearby reality. – rho
Yesterday
you were corresponding with Doug about science and were attempting to think of
new ways approaching reality. The C/Net article you discovered today gives a
sense of your approach. If an intelligent alien humanoid does exist elsewhere
perhaps sheorhe has the ability to sense and distribute color such at the
octopus. This, to you, would give the alien an insight into reality from a
different perspective. And, perhaps because of this the humanoid’s thinking
processes would lead it passed walls that we encounter in our thinking, walls
such as ‘Catch-22’ in terms of logical reasoning. - Amorella
** **
Skin that can see is octopus camouflage
superpower
A
protein in octopus skin is similar to a light-detecting protein found in the
eye, enabling the cephalopods' amazing camouflage skills.
May 21, 2015 9:50 PM PDT
Octopuses
have some amazing tricks up their sleeves, which is understandable with eight
arms and everything. The most amazing of those tricks is its ability to
camouflage itself (and there are some videos of that down at the bottom because
it's awesome).
We
know that the change in the colour of the octopus' skin is affected by
chromatophores, light-reflecting and pigment-containing cells that undergo a
process called metachrosis. This is when the reflective plates are shifted and
the pigment relocated, controlled by complex organs, which causes a colour
shift based on what the octopus sees around it with its powerful eyes.
But,
as it turns out, the octopus doesn't just use its eyes and brain to process
visual information -- it can sense light through just its skin.
Researchers
at the University of California, Santa Barbara, have discovered that the
California two-spot octopus is able to sense light directly through its skin,
without any input from its central nervous system. This is because a family of
proteins called opsins can be found in the octopus' skin, discovered by the
UCSB team.
Opsins
are light-sensitive receptor proteins usually found in the photoreceptor cells
of the retina.
"Octopus skin doesn't sense
light in the same amount of detail as the animal does when it uses its eyes and
brain," said study lead author Desmond Ramirez, a doctoral student in the
Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology. "But it can sense an
increase or change in light. Its skin is not detecting contrast and edge but
rather brightness."
Ramirez
observed the results of the octopus' "seeing skin" by shining a
bright white light directly onto the tissue. This caused the chromatophores to
expand and change colour, without any input from the eyes or brain. When the
light was turned off, the chromatophores relaxed. Ramirez then tried a variety
of different light wavelengths from violet to orange. Blue light produced the
quickest chromatophore response.
This
process, which suggests that the skin's light sensors are connected to the
chromatophores, has been dubbed Light-Activated Chromatophore Expansion, or
LACE.
"It looks like the existing
cellular mechanism for light detection in octopus eyes, which has been around
for quite some time, has been co-opted for light sensing in the animal's skin
and used for LACE," explained study co-author and EEMB professor Todd
Oakley. "So instead of completely inventing new things, LACE puts parts
together in new ways and combinations."
Further
molecular experiments determined that rhodopsin could be found in the sensory
neurons on the surface of the skin tissue. The new discovery helps further
understanding of the complex mechanisms involved in octopus camouflage and
could prove useful in developing bio-inspired technologies.
The
next step in the research is to determine whether the protein can be found in
the skin of other cephalopods, such as squids and, if so, how octopuses and
squids are related.
"Do
they all come from the same ancestral source or did they evolve multiple
times?" Ramirez said. "What kind of behaviours do the different
groups share and what kind of behaviours does the skin sensing light
underlie?" . . .
Selected and edited from -
http://www.cnetDOTcom/news/skin-that-can-see-is-octopus-camouflage-superpower/
** **
2002
hours. Indeed, it is an interesting article and seen in its entirety has good
photos/video to show as examples. And, it would be interesting to see the social
interaction in that perhaps unconsciously two people who were attracted to one
another might take the other’s color and general make-up to show such
attraction without all the ‘role playing’ and ‘drama’ we would inject into
early or first relationships. In some ways it would be like having telepathic
powers. Few to no secrets – so then, what? How do people get along knowing each
others feels/ thoughts almost first-hand at the same time you do, or maybe even
a few seconds earlier? Fun
thinking.
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