Elegant interplay of coloration strategies is discovered in squid’s smart skin
In the blink of an eye, the squid’s skin changes color and pattern for the purpose of camouflage or sexual signaling, a virtuosic display that has long fascinated scientists. Now, collaborators report a paradigm-shifting discovery in how specialized organs in squid skin, called chromatophores, contribute to the feat via an elegant interplay of pigmentary action and structural coloration. Their study brings bio-inspired engineers ever closer to building smart skin. …read more
