Squid Communicate With a Secret, Skin-Powered Alphabet

Squid and their cephalopod brethren have been the inspiration for many a science fiction creature. Their slippery appendages, huge proportions, and inking abilities can be downright shudder-inducing. But you should probably be more concerned by the cephalopod's huge brain--which not only helps it solve tricky puzzles, but also lets it converse in its own sign language. But it's not that: Certain kinds of squid send messages by manipulating the color of their skin. "Their body patterning is fantastic, fabulous," says Chuan-Chin Chiao, a neuroscientist at National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan.