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Breaking the Squid Barrier

Posted by timothy on from the calimari-for-the-5000 dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Dr. Steve O'Shea of Auckland, New Zealand is attempting to break the record for keeping deep sea squid alive in captivity, with the goal of being able to raise a giant squid one day. Right now, he's raising the broad squid, sepioteuthis australis, from egg masses found in seaweed. This is a lot harder than it sounds, because the squid he's studying grow rapidly and eat only live prey, making it hard for them to keep the squid from becoming prey themselves. If his research works out, you might one day be able to visit an aquarium and see giant squid."

91 of 126 comments (clear)

  1. Squidcam by biryokumaru · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Well, until they have them at Coney Island, I'll just keep my eye on the squidcam. I wonder how long I can control it for...

    --
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    1. Re:Squidcam by Darkness404 · · Score: 1

      Why does a webcam need Java?

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    2. Re:Squidcam by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      To keep it awake at night?

    3. Re:Squidcam by binarylarry · · Score: 1

      For rich features that aren't currently possible with other technologies like flash, html, etc.

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    4. Re:Squidcam by sg_oneill · · Score: 4, Funny

      Java also gives the web designer a more broader pallette of techniques for crashing the users browsers that work cross platform just as god intended.

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    5. Re:Squidcam by binarylarry · · Score: 1

      That's historically been the case. However, the java plugin has recently been rewritten and the newer version is much faster and eliminates browser crashes (the applet executes in a separate process).

      It's just a shame that Sun (now Oracle) hasn't open sourced the plugin, even though they said they would.

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    6. Re:Squidcam by skine · · Score: 1

      Java also gives the web designer a more broader ...

      Goddamnit, I'm on Ubuntu! My Java can't support impropper gr

    7. Re:Squidcam by SanityInAnarchy · · Score: 1

      Like what, exactly?

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    8. Re:Squidcam by BikeHelmet · · Score: 1

      Correction: Why does a slideshow need java?

      Answer: Because the programmer used Java.

      My bandwidth monitor says it's using about 14KB per second. They could have released it as a 128kbit video stream instead.

    9. Re:Squidcam by Hal_Porter · · Score: 5, Funny

      Saying Java is better because it works on all platforms is like saying anal sex is better because it works on all genders.

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    10. Re:Squidcam by umghhh · · Score: 1

      Not sure what you want to say- that a. sex is better than other kinds or opposite?

  2. A simple plan by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    1. Raise giant squid
    2. ???
    3. Profit!

    I think #2 could easily be "open chain of squid restaurants" or "conquer the world"

    1. Re:A simple plan by biryokumaru · · Score: 4, Funny

      pen chain of squid restaurants

      Or sell the meat to an already popular franchise...

      McCalamari? McSquid? No... I've got it!

      McKraken!

      --
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    2. Re:A simple plan by stockard · · Score: 1, Insightful

      You could also keep it as a defense for your island fortress against James Bond a la Dr. No! (The novel, not the movie.)

    3. Re:A simple plan by Cryacin · · Score: 1

      Better than McLovin.

      --
      Science advances one funeral at a time- Max Planck
    4. Re:A simple plan by $RANDOMLUSER · · Score: 3, Funny

      "open chain of squid restaurants"

      You know, in Japan, parents tell their children that chicken "tastes just like squid".

      --
      No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
    5. Re:A simple plan by Greyfox · · Score: 1

      2) Contract to Japan for a live-action version of their most popular anime, "Tentacle Rape Monster Conquers Teenage Schoolgirl".

      --

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    6. Re:A simple plan by Talarohk · · Score: 2, Funny

      One problem: giant squid flesh has a high concentration of ammonium ions, and so probably tastes like urine-soaked diapers.

    7. Re:A simple plan by Cylix · · Score: 1

      I'm sure there is a niche market willing to pay more then face value now that you have mentioned it tastes like diapers.

      --
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    8. Re:A simple plan by riT-k0MA · · Score: 1

      Do they come with sonic blasters to counter the laser-sharks?

    9. Re:A simple plan by strongpassword · · Score: 1

      #2 is "attach frickin' lasers to them"

    10. Re:A simple plan by interkin3tic · · Score: 2, Interesting

      1. Raise giant squid
      2. ???
      3. Profit!

      I think #2 could easily be "open chain of squid restaurants" or "conquer the world"

      You could also sell them as exotic pets to rich, stupid people.

      A more legitimate use would be to prevent them from going extinct. They don't seem to be classified as endangered, but I'd guess that might have more to do with our ability to observe and count them than their actual likelyhood of going extinct.

      What came to my mind first though was that giant squids might then be useful as model organisms for various studies. The giant axons of squids (regular sized squids, giant axons) were useful for first identifying the motor protein kinesin, and I've heard were also useful for early studies on neurons. Different animals may be particularly useful for doing research on, but if you can't keep them in a lab setting or catch many fresh, that really prevents that. Maybe the giant squid has some really interesting cellular process, we could study it, and learn something that will eventually cure cancer. Maybe not.

    11. Re:A simple plan by TamCaP · · Score: 1

      Some neuroscientists still work with the giant squid axon. And yes, it was used extensively in neuroscience, an elegant collection of works by Hodgkin and Huxley (foundation of modern electrophysiology) comes to mind. They even received a Nobel prize for their work in 1963 (the research was published in the early 50s).

    12. Re:A simple plan by interkin3tic · · Score: 1

      Some neuroscientists still work with the giant squid axon. And yes, it was used extensively in neuroscience, an elegant collection of works by Hodgkin and Huxley (foundation of modern electrophysiology) comes to mind. They even received a Nobel prize for their work in 1963 (the research was published in the early 50s).

      I guess my bias was showing a little there :-P My undergrad neuroscience prof must have been better than I thought if I even vaguely remembered that.

    13. Re:A simple plan by Ma8thew · · Score: 4, Informative
      From Wikipedia:

      Giant squid and some other large squid species maintain neutral buoyancy in seawater through an ammonium chloride solution which flows throughout their body and is lighter than seawater. This differs from the method of floatation used by fish, which involves a gas-filled swim bladder. The solution tastes somewhat like salmiakki and makes giant squid unattractive for general human consumption.

    14. Re:A simple plan by Hal_Porter · · Score: 1

      Japan! Squid a la schoolgirl knickers!

      --
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    15. Re:A simple plan by liamoshan · · Score: 1

      Or sell the meat to an already popular franchise...

      McCalamari? McSquid? No... I've got it!

      McKraken!

      They couldn't name it the McKraken, they'd be sued by Phil

    16. Re:A simple plan by spxero · · Score: 1

      Yeah, but what about deep-fried? Throw some ranch on the side and we won't even taste the squid!

    17. Re:A simple plan by donscarletti · · Score: 1

      Sell it to Finns then.

      --
      When Argumentum ad Hominem falls short, try Argumentum ad Matrem
    18. Re:A simple plan by History's+Coming+To · · Score: 1

      It's been done, some marine biologist had a few unused tissue samples and tried frying them up in olive oil with some garlic...didn't help.

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    19. Re:A simple plan by Hertzyscowicz · · Score: 1

      Wait, salmiakki-flavored squid? That might actually work. At the very least it would have the "tastes unlike anything else" bonus to it's popularity.

      Hey, the Japanese eat fugu just for the kick of not knowing if the chef accidentally laced the fish with powerful neurotoxins.

    20. Re:A simple plan by Flere+Imsaho · · Score: 1

      They could add a new character to the McDonalds family, Phil McKraken.

      --
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    21. Re:A simple plan by biryokumaru · · Score: 1

      I was thinking Zak.

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  3. Meanwhile by MichaelSmith · · Score: 5, Funny

    Giant squid are trying to break the human barrier: to tes how long they can keep human beings alive at great depth. Currently the record stands at 120 seconds.

    --
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    1. Re:Meanwhile by aplusjimages · · Score: 1

      maybe that's a better solution. Grow human babies in deep water pressures and then let them study the squids.

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    2. Re:Meanwhile by Elky+Elk · · Score: 5, Funny

      That's part of the scientific exchange program, done on a squid pro quo basis.

    3. Re:Meanwhile by MichaelSmith · · Score: 3, Funny

      done on a squid pro quo basis.

      Aghhhh!

      I am having a brain MRI tomorrow morning and if it shows abnormalities it is all your fault.

      --
      http://michaelsmith.id.au
    4. Re:Meanwhile by Cyberax · · Score: 4, Informative

      Do you know that MRI scanners use SQUIDs?

      Seriously: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SQUID

    5. Re:Meanwhile by MichaelSmith · · Score: 1

      I'm done for. They will scan my brain for remnants of this article, do away with me and march on New Zealand to rescue their brothers and sisters.

      I am starting to get worried now. I am pretty sure that I have not acquired any lumps of metal in my eyes over the last 44 years, but how can I be sure? This is my first time in a really strong magnetic field and I don't want to find out what it feels like if there are unaccounted metallic splinters in there. I plan to keep my eyes closed.

      --
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    6. Re:Meanwhile by SBrach · · Score: 1

      Do you have magic eyelids??

    7. Re:Meanwhile by jackchance · · Score: 1

      Do you know that MRI scanners use SQUIDs?

      Seriously: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SQUID

      Not really. If you read the wiki article carefully, you will see that SQUIDS are used in "microtesla" MRI. This is not the normal MRI. If you go to a hospital you will probably get a 1.5 Tesla scan. If you volunteer as a research subject you might get a 3 T scan or rarely a 7 T scan.

      SQUIDS are used for MEG though. If you are being prepped for brain surgery for epilepsy you might get one of those, although most places still just use EEG, which is an order of magnitude (or 2) cheaper.

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  4. Re:Pet squid by biryokumaru · · Score: 1

    Plus they can eat prey up to 1.5x their size, so trying to keep it in the bathtub without telling your wife probably isn't going to turn out well...

    --
    When you're afraid to download music illegally in your own home, then the terrorists have won!
  5. Re:Pet squid by kryptKnight · · Score: 1

    trying to keep it in the bathtub without telling your wife probably isn't going to turn out well...

    Unless you're into that kind of thing, in which case it'll turn out great!

    --
    Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored. -Aldous Huxley
  6. I don't think... by Antony-Kyre · · Score: 1, Insightful

    giant squids were meant to live in captivity. Seems kind of cruel. But, oh well.

    1. Re:I don't think... by sexconker · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I don't think giant squids were meant to live in captivity. Seems kind of cruel. But, oh well.

      I don't think humans were meant to live in captivity, but here we fucking are. Wake up in a box, go to work in a different box, come home to the first box, repeat.

      On weekends we to stay in the first box; Sometimes we come out, but typically our weekends are spent maintaining the box.

      A captive squid is no more cruel than a captive cow or a captive cat or the fly buzzing around trying to go through your window.

    2. Re:I don't think... by timmarhy · · Score: 2, Insightful
      "meant to"? who sets those rules anyway. have you asked a squid if it likes it or not? maybe they fucking LOVE being in captivity, for all you know they hate having to swim about all day trying to find food with the threat of starvation ever present.

      My dog wasn't meant to live inside either, but that doesn't stop him howling at the back door wanting to come in and jump all over the bed.

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    3. Re:I don't think... by Ma8thew · · Score: 1

      Really? If I were a giant squid, I'd take the freedom to roam the worlds oceans over living in a fairly small glass box any day.

    4. Re:I don't think... by Antony-Kyre · · Score: 1

      I guess cats have the best of both worlds. One could say it is the humans who are the slaves in the human-cat relationship.

  7. Why does the caged squid sing? by BadAnalogyGuy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    That isn't singing. Air is escaping from the squid's pores because there isn't enough atmospheric pressure at sea level to properly hold the colloidal structure together which makes it sound like the squid is singing.

    Feeding is only one aspect of caring for giant squids.

    1. Re:Why does the caged squid sing? by Hurricane78 · · Score: 1

      Ouch. That sounds really bad/painful.

      Can’t hey just use a pressurized aquarium?

      This sounds like (by definition unnecessary) torture.

      --
      Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from stupidity.
    2. Re:Why does the caged squid sing? by Xest · · Score: 1

      I was thinking about this issue myself when I read it. How hard would it be to emulate the pressure on a body of water large enough for a squid to survive in? I'd imagine pretty damn hard and extremely expensive right?

    3. Re:Why does the caged squid sing? by Xest · · Score: 2, Interesting

      In fact, further to my other response to you, thinking about this, is it actually a problem? They're talking about raising from eggs I believe, so would an egg born squid suffer the problem if brought up entirely in a much lower pressure body of water?

      Is the ability to only be able to cope with high pressure genetic, or is it merely a result of natural growth at that pressure?

    4. Re:Why does the caged squid sing? by i.r.id10t · · Score: 1

      Nah, a little airspace and a compressor will take care of the pressure aspect.

      Temperature, water quality, what to feed it, and how to open the pressurised container to feed it (air lock style door?) would be trickier.

      --
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    5. Re:Why does the caged squid sing? by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 1

      Temperature, water quality, what to feed it, and how to open the pressurised container to feed it (air lock style door?) would be trickier.

      especially if they need live prey.

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  8. Re:Ob-Titans by LukeWebber · · Score: 1

    And don't forget the frikkin' lasers this time, dammit!

  9. Only live prey? by nicknamenotavailable · · Score: 2, Insightful

    eat only live prey

    So what do they plan to feed them once they become "giant" ?

    chickens?
    goats?
    cows?

    Just stand back from the pool, will ya?

    1. Re:Only live prey? by BadAnalogyGuy · · Score: 1

      "Giant" is a misnomer. Compared to the average squid, these things are pretty huge, but they are only 2m in length in most cases. You could probably keep one fed on a couple broiler chickens every fourth day or so.

    2. Re:Only live prey? by Alcohol+Fueled · · Score: 4, Informative

      When I hear "giant squid," I think of a... giant squid. Per Wikipedia: "Giant squid can grow to a tremendous size: recent estimates put the maximum size at 13 metres (43 ft) for females and 10 metres (33 ft) for males from caudal fin to the tip of the two long tentacles (second only to the colossal squid at an estimated 14 metres (46 ft), one of the largest living organisms)."

      --
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    3. Re:Only live prey? by darth+dickinson · · Score: 1

      I would pay money (not a lot, mind you...) to see a video of a 2 meter long squid devouring a live chicken.

    4. Re:Only live prey? by syousef · · Score: 1

      estimated 14 metres (46 ft), one of the largest living organisms)."

      Gotta love Wikipedia. I have a palm tree that's longer. One of the largest living ANIMALS perhaps.

      --
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    5. Re:Only live prey? by mforbes · · Score: 1

      Yes, if you want truly large living organisms, you need only take a look at this thing.

      --

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    6. Re:Only live prey? by BlackSnake112 · · Score: 1

      Go to the Gulf of California. They have the Humboldt squid there. Find them, toss in your chicken, watch the carnage. of course you might have to lure them with some bait first. They usually eat fish not birds.

      Myself, I would like a few Humboldt squid for bait. One of them would be bait for a few trips.

    7. Re:Only live prey? by Grishnakh · · Score: 1

      We're talking about animals here, not plants. Just about any decent-sized tree has more mass than the largest squid.

      And I believe the current record for largest living organism (which again is a plant) is the Aspen tree, in particular a grove of them in Colorado somewhere. All the "trees" are actually just shoots coming out of the same huge set of underground roots.

  10. Easy headline to misread by davidwr · · Score: 4, Funny

    The first thing that came to my mind was proxying web servers.

    The second thing was a row of squid (the living kind) being used as a barricade.

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    1. Re:Easy headline to misread by niftyguy · · Score: 2, Funny

      First thing that came to my mind was a new type of photon torpedo capable of penetrating the hull and shielding of a calamari cruiser.

    2. Re:Easy headline to misread by FiloEleven · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Silly me thought someone was going to attempt to learn their language--many species of squid use bio-luminescence to signal to each other in the depths, and the variety of patterns seen leads some scientists to believe that they have developed a rich visual language.

      --
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    3. Re:Easy headline to misread by Megahard · · Score: 1

      I was thinking of an advance in measuring tiny magnetic fields

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    4. Re:Easy headline to misread by outsider007 · · Score: 2, Funny

      That's ok, I thought it was about gays in the military.

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  11. Re:Pet squid by biryokumaru · · Score: 1

    I submit to you: The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife (NSFW, unless you work in antique Japanese quasi-porn)

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    When you're afraid to download music illegally in your own home, then the terrorists have won!
  12. Becoming prey by Arancaytar · · Score: 1

    making it hard for them to keep the squid from becoming prey themselves.

    Could be worse. :P

  13. You know you hate proxies when ... by benjto · · Score: 1

    You know you hate proxies when you are disappointed this article isn't about the best ways to defeat them.

  14. Re:Pet squid by value_added · · Score: 1

    Plus they can eat prey up to 1.5x their size, so trying to keep it in the bathtub without telling your wife probably isn't going to turn out well...

    I keep my eels in a hovercraft. Maybe that would work for squid?

  15. Re:Pet squid by afabbro · · Score: 1

    Plus they can eat prey up to 1.5x their size, so trying to keep it in the bathtub without telling your wife probably isn't going to turn out well...

    Hans Reiser thanks you for failing to mention this idea until now.

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  16. Squid Barrier? by SEWilco · · Score: 1

    Don't say "breaking the squid barrier" around these aquariums.

  17. Good luck by theurge14 · · Score: 1

    He'll probably need to try 20,000 times or so.

  18. cuttlefish are not quite squid... by myc · · Score: 4, Funny

    nonetheless, trying to raise giant squid may not be a good idea:

    http://xkcd.com/520/

    --
    NO CARRIER
    1. Re:cuttlefish are not quite squid... by tkw954 · · Score: 5, Informative

      nonetheless, trying to raise giant squid may not be a good idea:

      That's right, trying to raise a giant squid isn't a good idea, it's an awesome idea!

  19. Re:Ob-Titans by JackieBrown · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Since the movie has now been referenced (I swear I did not set this up) how many are annoyed that they are remaking this movie?

    It is not the same blasephemy as when they remade Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory or The Day the Earth Stood Still, but it feels close.

  20. Re:Ob-Titans by JackieBrown · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Sorry to reply to myself, but I would have been ok with it if they had kept the mechanical owl :)

  21. Re:But tell me this ! by assemblerex · · Score: 1

    Wow hivemind. Lukewebber you may be my lost twin.

  22. How to break the squid barrier by mysidia · · Score: 1

    Keeping Squid alive is easy... make sure to feed it properly, meet the hardware requirements, ensure ample access to water, and follow basic care guidelines.

    Don't abuse or torture your squid.

  23. oops by Swaziboy · · Score: 1

    and there I thought this was going to be about releasing proxy servers into the wild ...

  24. It would be a shame by Centurix · · Score: 1

    If they found that you could grow anything in deep water and it gets really big. Then they figure out that the squid is really a miniature squid and is overwhelmingly disappointing...

    --
    Task Mangler
  25. Re:Ob-Titans by ehrichweiss · · Score: 1

    Well played, sir.

    --
    0x09F911029D74E35BD84156C5635688C0
  26. Re:Pet squid by GoochOwnsYou · · Score: 1

    You know theres an entire anime genre dedicated to that sort of thing

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  27. oh! by molecular · · Score: 1

    did anyone else think this was about building some ssl-tunnel through squid proxies?

  28. Train them to drive a spaceship... by jean-vivien · · Score: 1

    .... first learn their bio luminescence language

  29. Grea Idea! by hoelk · · Score: 1

    Maybe once we're able to breed them we can also teach them to walk on land?

  30. Re:Pet squid by Goodl · · Score: 1

    only if you cannot buy this record, it is scratched!

    --
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  31. Re:Ob-Titans by Microsift · · Score: 1

    The original movie sucked. Watch it again, its only merits are its campiness. I can't understand why they're remaking it either. Even as a kid the huge divergence from the original story annoyed me. Perseus never rode the Pegasus (though he aided in its creation). The writing was terrible "Gifts from the gods must never be questioned."

    --
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  32. Re:Ob-Titans by Grishnakh · · Score: 1

    Well, you have to admit that at least on this one, they're remaking a movie that last appeared many decades ago. For contrast, look at some comic-based movies: The Hulk, which had the Ang Lee version starring Eric Bana 7-8 years ago, and then only a few years later they make yet another remake, this time starring Edward Norton. WTF? And now, we hear that they want to make a new 3D version of Spider-Man, after we just got done watching a trilogy by Sam Raimi (the new 3D version will be with someone else, and will not star Tobey Maguire, for those who haven't heard).

    I mean seriously, what is the deal with remaking a movie after less than 10 years or even less than 5? It's just dumb. People have complained a long time about how Hollywood is out of ideas and keeps recycling them, but this is getting ridiculous. It's one thing to do a remake of a 40-year-old movie with all-new effects (as that's one thing Hollywood definitely has done well with in recent years), but one which just recently made it onto DVD?

    Next thing you know, they're going to try to reboot the "Alien" franchise, or worse, they'll want to make a "Terminator" remake. Or maybe they'll try to make a re-make of "Avatar" in a couple of years.