Imagine going into warfare without the enemy being able to see you. That’s right, shape shifting, an abstraction only conveyed in video games and fiction, is now being viewed as an achievable concept. Rebekah Marcarelli from HNGN wrote about how cephalopods are going to help science develop this high-tech type of camouflage. This milestone in technology could change the entire spectrum of combat.
Cephalopods, or “squid” as they are most commonly known, can create a substance called “reflectin,” which Popsci describes as:
“A squid-like film can be switched on and off chemically to change how infrared light is
reflected.”
The team that experimented with reflectin discovered that the protein expanded enough to make “the encased object ‘disappear,'” Marcarelli reported. At the bottom of the article HNGN embedded this video:
The video portrays a squid hovering in the ocean changing colors to completely alter its appearance. Reflectin is a fascinating defense mechanism for squid. Although squid do not have many predators, they do have a few. Their shape shifting ability protects squid from sharks and whales, squids’ most common predators.
To think that a concept so futuristic and unimaginable could soon become a reality is incredible! Technology is truly progressing quickly. Although the word “shape shift” seems like a bit of a stretch for this new type of technology, it is still a milestone in the science world. Reflectin seems more of a camouflage and if armies utilize this technology in the future, the way of war will completely shape shift as well. Is this technology practical though? That has yet to be determined and with this team continuously making new advancements in this experiments we will hopefully have the answer soon.
That is an extremely interesting topic. After reading your post, I started searching for other animals that can camouflage to their surroundings. I found this video on youtube that you should definitely check out.
. It really amazes me way this octopus completely replicates the color and texture of the algae.
Wow! What an interesting concept! I never would’ve imagined that such an advancement could even have a possibility of happening. However is shape shifting the correct term? Isn’t it more like camouflaging? Either way the concept of your article is great and very intriguing. Here’s a link to other animals that possess such qualities…http://animal.discovery.com/animal-facts/11-animals-that-use-camouflage.htm
To think that shape shifting could actually become possible is a really engaging topic. I would like to hear more about how this could be possible in the real world and if there have been any experiments done to test this? How could this technology actually come to be?
I found this article, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130725141759.htm, which relates to the color changing of the squid and of octopus and how they do so. Understanding how they do so could help the use of it practically.