Rebecka Sepela Wins Warren Alpert Distinguished Scholar Award in Neuroscience to Study How Microbes Shape Octopus Social Life 🧠 🧪🧬🔬 #AcademicSky #higherEd
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n... @nbellono.bsky.social @rachellegaudet.bsky.social @naoshigeuchida.bsky.social @harvardbrainsci.bsky.social
📣 2026 winner of the JMS Prize:
⭐ Wendy Valencia-Montoya
🐝🌼 "...a tiny insect pollinator must find its rare host plant. How do they find each other? What signals and sensory systems allow them to communicate? And once they meet, how do insects survive feeding on plants packed with neurotoxins..."
A description of Pablo's work, discovery-based science, and how following the unexpected and unusual can lead to new understanding and broad lessons: www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/arti...
More on Pablo et al's study with nice tide pool octopus photos from Anik Grearson :)
wapo.st/47D71zu
Pablo describes his serendipitous observation following co-housing two octopuses that led to his exploration of the sensory behaviors, molecules, and receptors underlying mating:
cover photo from late Roy Caldwell (UC Berkeley) with nice remembrances here: www.science.org/content/blog...
with nice perspective from Anna Di Cosmo: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Pablo Villar et al discover male octopus mating arms are sensory organs used to find females, navigate internally to the oviduct & deliver sperm. From behavior to structure, these findings offer a framework for how sensory systems shape reproduction & species barriers
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Study Reveals Octopus Mating Arm Doubles as a Chemical Sensor 🧠 🧪🧬 #AcademicSky #higherEd #sciencecommunication #research
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n...
@nbellono.bsky.social @harvardbrainsci.bsky.social @hsph.harvard.edu @harvardmed.bsky.social @oistedu.bsky.social @rachellegaudet.bsky.social
Sex at arm’s length? Male octopuses use specialised arm to mate, scientists find
Rebecka Sepela, a postdoctoral fellow in the MCB lab of Nick Bellono, has won a 2026 Warren Alpert Distinguished Scholars Fellowship Award in Neuroscience from The Warren Alpert […]
www.mcb.harvard.edu
New research reveals how octopuses essentially have a tongue, an arm, a penis and a sperm cell all rolled into one appendage.
Scientists found that the male’s hectocotylus, the specialized arm for mating, is lined with receptors that can sense hormones from the female.
www.nationalgeographic.com
Roy Caldwell leaves behind a wealth of fond memories that speak not only to his research, but also to his collegiality, curiosity, and photographic talent.
A new study (PDF) from the MCB lab of Nicholas Bellono reveals an unexpected sensory mechanism underlying octopus reproduction—showing that a specialized arm used for mating is also […]
www.mcb.harvard.edu
Sensory organ in male cephalopod, known as hectocotylus, able to detect female hormone progesterone, even if male cannot see partner
Sex might seem an intimate act, but scientists have shed fresh light on how octopuses manage it at arm’s length.
Male octopuses use a specialised arm called the hectocotylus to place a package of sperm inside the female’s reproductive system. Continue reading...
