A bit of flash usually makes someone stand out, but Loligo squids disguise themselves with shine. Now scientists have illuminated how these squids alter the charges of their reflective proteins, allowing the iridescent animals to hide in open water.
This charge change spurs the specialized proteins to self-assemble, shifting the shapes of cells and shifting the color of reflected light, scientists report online September 22 in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface.
Reflecting light can help attract mates, scare predators and, in the squid’s case, provide camouflage in the open ocean. And by understanding the squids’ hiding skills, scientists may be able to design new approaches for other self-assembling proteins, which may be used in materials such as thin films and invisibility fabrics.