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Vampire Squid And The Evolution Of Cephalopod Sex

Everyone loves vampire squid, right? Their monstrous name belies their gentle nature as graceful...

Learning Science From Fiction: A Review Of Ryan Lockwood’s “Below”

In last month’s review of Preparing the Ghost, I mentioned that you can actually learn facts...

Usurped By Legend: A Review Of Matthew Gavin Frank’s ‘Preparing The Ghost’

When you read something in a book, do you believe it? You might say, “Of course not if it’s...

Squid Lady Parts

This Bobtail squid was imaged by the Deep Discover ROV in Atlantis Canyon, is less than one foot...

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Danna StaafRSS Feed of this column.

Cephalopods have been rocking my world since I was in grade school. I pursued them through a BA in marine biology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, followed by a PhD dissertation at... Read More »

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Squid Not Very Helpful With Earthquakes

Squid Not Very Helpful With Earthquakes

May 10 2011 | comment(s)

Many people are confident that their dogs and cats can sense impending earthquakes. Could squid provide humans with the same service? Let's examine the "connections" that have been drawn between squid and earthquakes.

In La Jolla in 2009, a small stranding event occurred around the same time as an equally small earthquake. But the squid actually started stranding a few days before the earthquake, deflating the much-hyped idea that the earthquake caused the stranding.

This year in Japan,
Squid Ink--Now With Medical Applications!

Squid Ink--Now With Medical Applications!

May 07 2011 | comment(s)

I missed a cool paper last year on the effects of squid ink on angiogenesis--the growth of new blood vessels. And therefore I also missed the chance to run the sensationalist headline SQUID INK BLOTS OUT CANCER, or something equally punny and misleading.

Growing new blood vessels seems like a good thing, and indeed it often is. But, as the Angiogenesis Foundation points out:
Abnormal blood vessel growth, either excessive or insufficient, is now recognized as a “common denominator” underlying many deadly and debilitating conditions, including cancer, skin diseases, age-related blindness, diabetic ulcers, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and many others.
Happy May Day! (Circus Of The Spineless #62)

Happy May Day! (Circus Of The Spineless #62)

May 02 2011 | comment(s)

Welcome to the month of May! The time of Beltane and Walpurgis Night, flowers and maypoles and springtime dancing.

Want a May Basket? Well, um, how about a nice gall instead? Dave Hubble zooms in with some exquisite photos and shows us just what a gift a gall can be to the inquisitive mind.
Squids In Space--Seriously

Squids In Space--Seriously

Apr 28 2011 | comment(s)



The last flight of the space shuttle Endeavour will be both manned and squidded.
Why Is Squid Skin So Complicated, Anyway?

Why Is Squid Skin So Complicated, Anyway?

Apr 27 2011 | comment(s)

It's not exactly news--the Navy's decision to fund a huge, interdisciplinary research project on squid skin is so last year--but the topic cropped up again and started me wondering: why do squid use different techniques to make different colors?

Here's an explanatory bit from MSNBC:
Tsunami vs. Squid?

Tsunami vs. Squid?

Apr 21 2011 | comment(s)

So this is puzzling. The headline is Jumbo flying squid feels impact of tsunami, but after reading the article about a dozen times, I still can't tell what the "impact" is.