Scientists Discover How the Octopus Coordinates Its Eight Arms to Move

Scientists at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Weizmann Institute of Science have published a paper in the journal Current Biology that explains how the octopus coordinates its eight arms to move. Octopuses move by pushing themselves along with their arms, but exactly how they accomplish motion has been unclear until now.

The researchers determined that the central brain of the animal only decides which arm to move, and the peripheral nervous system controls the exact movement of each appendage.

The New York Times science writer James Gorman explains the paper in a recent ScienceTake episode.

via The New York Times