Why Are Some Octopuses So Smart? The Answer Might Lie in a Never-Before-Seen Mutation That Helps Them Accurately Build Proteins | Smithsonian magazine

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Editor’s note: This article explores new research on octopuses and includes perspective from MBL Senior Scientist Joshua Rosenthal, who was not involved in the study.

Octopuses are incredibly clever creatures. They can open jars, solve mazes and even use tools. One species, the common blanket octopus, wields venomous tentacles ripped from the Portuguese man o’ war as weapons.

Now, researchers have discovered a mysterious mutation in some octopuses that might explain their intelligence. A study published in the August 17 issue of the journal Current Biology reveals that the eight-limbed creatures can produce proteins with extreme accuracy thanks to a variation never seen in any other animal. Although there is no direct evidence that the adaptation is linked to expanded octopus brainpower, only a lineage of creatures with enlarged nervous systems and that can carry out complex behaviors appears to have the mutation.

Scientists made this discovery by accident. About five years ago, study co-author Richard Han, then a graduate student at Harvard Medical School, was examining molecules called ribosomal RNA (rRNA) in tissues from the California two-spot octopus. The molecules create a 3D scaffold for ribosomes, the cells’ protein factories.