Octopus arms have minds of their own. Each of an octopus's eight supple yet powerful limbs can explore the seafloor in search of prey, snatching crabs from hiding spots without direction from the brain. But how each arm can tell what it's grasping has been a mystery. Now, researchers have identified cells that allow octopus arms to "taste." Embedded in the suckers, these cells let the arms do the double duty of touching and tasting by detecting chemicals made by many aquatic creatures. This may help an arm quickly distinguish food from rocks or poisonous prey, Harvard University molecular biologist Nicholas Bellono and colleagues report in the Oct. 29 Cell.
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