Hey there, friends, and welcome to episode 203 of Just the Zoo of Us. This week, I'm joined by a

marine biologist and artist with a passion for cephalopods to review the mind-blowing,

rogues of the sea, cuddlfish. We discuss RNA editing, cephalopod brains, how cuttlefish

are able to change their skin in the blink of an eye,

use deception and disguise to win over mates, and how connecting with nature inspires art and

innovation that makes the whole world a better place. Just the Zoo of Us presents

Cuddlefish with Meg Minlin.

Music presents Cuddlefish with Meg Minlin. Hello, everybody, it's Ellen Weatherford with your favorite animal review podcast, just the zoo of us.

I'm so excited this week to be talking to a brand new friend. This is Meg Minlan. Say hi, Meg.

Hi, Meg, what are your pronouns real quick?

My pronouns are she, they.

Thank you so much. I'm really excited to be talking to you because I've been following you on social media for a while.

You're very funny. I'm so very, have this just very clear and contagious enthusiasm for marine invertebrates, which I don't think get as much hype as they should. So I think we can,

we can fix that a little bit today. Meg, what kind of work do you do with these squiggly dudes in the water?

Yeah, so I am currently a graduate student at Walla Walla University in eastern Washington,

and I study octopuses and their ability to RNA edit.

What is RNA edit? What does that mean?

So instead of like most individuals that they edit their DNA and

evolve through like random mutation, octopuses are actually, encephalpods in general, are actually

editing their RNA instead of their DNA. Am I remembering it correctly that RNA is like

the messenger that translates the DNA? Yeah, that's like one

type of RNA. Basically, the central dogma biology, you have DNA to RNA to protein. The RNA is

...