A protein in octopus skin is similar to a light-detecting protein found in the eye, enabling the cephalopods' amazing camouflage skills. Michelle Starr is CNET's science editor, and she hopes to get ...

Octopuses are masters of camouflage and disguise. An alarmed octopus can vanish even while you watch, flawlessly transforming into what looks like a piece of coral-encrusted rock, or another species ...

The United States military is funding research into octopus skin to develop new techniques of camouflage. The U.S. Army and Air Force actually are both funding this project where they want to see how ...

Inspired by the small but deadly blue-ringed octopus, researchers have created a novel technology that rapidly changes color and appearance under various kinds of light, enabling camouflaging and ...

The order Octopoda really is endlessly entertaining. Members create armor out of shells, use the “sneaky shoulder tap” technique to attack prey, and commit mass akrasia for no apparent reason. Now, in ...

At first glance, the thumbnail-size grids of 256 minuscule black squares seem to have nothing to do with the octopus, squid and cuttlefish that inspired them. But these high-tech microconstructions of ...

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. With its eight grasping arms, camouflage-like skin, and large ...

Engineers have invented stretchable surfaces with programmable 3-D texture morphing, a synthetic 'camouflaging skin' inspired by studying and modeling the real thing in octopus and cuttlefish. For the ...

Which animal would make the best spy? Perhaps something tiny like a beetle or something camouflaged like a chameleon? It might surprise you, but the octopus has them all beat. Infrared cameras image ...

In a flash, an octopus can make like ragged-edged seaweed or coral by changing the color and texture of its skin, thus becoming nearly invisible in its environment. And in the future, robots may be ...