Scientists gave octopuses ecstasy and it revealed a secret genetic link to humans

News.com.au ^ | Sept 21, 2018 | Nick Whigham

[ETL]

SCIENTISTS gave the popular party drug MDMA to a group of octopuses and the results were “completely unexpected” and reveal a hidden link to humans

SCIENTISTS have discovered what happens when you give the party drug MDMA to an octopus, and say the animals surprising reaction has “amazing” implications.

A team of researchers in the US decided to give a group of octopuses MDMA, often referred to as ecstasy or Molly to see how it would alter their behaviour.

After being dosed, the sea creatures become much more social, friendly and interested in others.

It made the animals — normally anti-social creatures — want to gather together, hug, and touch each other in a curious fashion.

Remarkably, they exhibited much the same behaviour as humans do when taking the drug that produces feeling of euphoria and a desire for social connection. And that’s the surprising part.

As the researchers pointed out, human and octopus lineages are separated by over 500 million years of evolution and show divergent anatomical patterns of brain organisation. In terms of our nervous system, we could hardly be more different.

The purpose of the study was for scientists at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Massachusetts to work out if octopuses and humans shared any genetic links.

[Telepathic Intruder]

If I had to go, I’d go John Belushi style.

[Fedora]

If you throw an octupus in a fire, it’ll burn to death, much like a human.

Wood will also burn when exposed to fire. Therefore humans and trees are closely related. QED.

[outofsalt]

Upon completing their observations the scientist fried up some calamari with ouzo https://www.dianekochilas.com/squid-with-ginger-soy-sauce-and-ouzo/

[skinndogNN]

Our grant and tax payers money well spent.

[EQAndyBuzz]

“Wood will also burn when exposed to fire. Therefore humans and trees are closely related. QED. “

That’s it!!! Octopi are trees. Problem solved, now wood smoked Octopi for everyone!

[TigersEye]

Did they try MDMA on other animals and find that it didn’t have similar results?
Otherwise this doesn’t prove anything special about octopi.

[Figment]

These are the same people who thought it was cool to get the dog high when they were teens

[Keyhopper]

Octopus in a tank, ah no thanks!
They’ll drive you nuts as they are escape artist.
They climb into your filters, get into the lights, eats you crabs and such.
Arrrggggggg No! NEVER! Will I put an octopus in my tank
Beat head on wall, fall on floor

[ETL]

Did they try MDMA on other animals and find that it didn’t have similar results? Otherwise this doesn’t prove anything special about octopi.

As far as I know, they also tried it on a horse, a goat, a tree sloth, and a former vice president...

[Red Badger]

We caught a tiny Blue Crab in our cast net. Baby was the size of a quarter.

We took him home and raised him in our aquarium.

When he was about a year old and about 4-5 inches across, we could not keep him in the tank, even though it had a heavy light and a lid.

Once we found him all the way in back of the house in a bedroom up against the wall under a dresser.

We had talked to a friend’s son who was a marine biologist and he told us to look in the place of our home that was nearest to the ocean, and that exactly where he was. We lived about 4 miles from the ocean at the time.

We finally took him out to the bay and set him free, but he never calls and never writes.........

[Norski]

One hopes that this experiment was not conducted in open waters, as it would have negative or disorienting effects upon other animals, MDMA being a mind-altering chemical. Enough of it, and the brain becomes as Swiss cheese.

[TigersEye]

ROTFLOL

[Keyhopper]

A friend gave me a small stone crab for my tank. I got up the next morning and the little bugger had undermined all my coral rock. It could have easily broken the glass on my 75 gallon saltwater tank. Imagine 75 gallons of water and fish dumped on your floor.
I returned him to the ocean.
Stone crabs are delicious with melted butter and some lemon juice.

[Yaelle]

Why am I never invited to the fun parties?

[RegulatorCountry]

Do you really want to party with an octopus in a touchy-feely mood?

[Yaelle]

They are very intelligent. If they don’t like their aquarium in a lab or other place, they will get out, squidge down the hall, and climb into another aquarium.

The saddest thing for their species, and why they are not the absolute kings of the seas, is that they die when they lay their eggs. They learn so much, have such powerful brains, but they are forced to start over each generation. They can’t pass anything on.

[Yaelle]

No Effin way. He solved a rubic’s Cube?? Omg I love these creatures.

[Yaelle]

That is a cool story.

[Yaelle]

Do you really want to party with an octopus in a touchy-feely mood?

---

Kinda. We all pet dogs and cats, isn’t it sweet? I’m not talking Japanese anime here. Just kosher communing.

[RegulatorCountry]

We’re talking a bunch of sticky suction cup thingies coiling and sliding all around you, the octopus is on x too, lol. Sounds like bad sci-fi to me.