Air piped into each bottle keeps translucent eggs the size of raisins oscillating inside. What at first looks like misplaced plastic bottles inside some tanks turn out to be old Coke bottles, purposefully placed mid-tank to incubate cephalopod eggs. A constant gurgle of fresh Cape Cod seawater originating from an adjacent inlet trickles through a network of pipes adding to a sense of chaos in the spacious but tightly packed wet lab. Led by squid wizard Bret Grasse, the workers here at MBL’s Marine Resources Center are attempting to master the science of rearing cephalopods-a group that includes squid, cuttlefish, and octopuses-in captivity. They check water quality, administer food, jot down notes, and otherwise go about the business of transforming the landscape of marine biological research. Just past a “squid sign-out” sheet, on the ground floor of a stately brick building at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, a handful of people in lab coats shimmy between rows of microwave-sized tanks. Listen now, download, or subscribe to “Hakai Magazine Audio Edition” through your favorite podcast app. This article is also available in audio format. Stream or download audio For this article J| 2,200 words, about 11 minutes Share this article Photo by Tom Kleindinst/Marine Biological Laboratory The Newest Lab Rat Has Eight Arms Move over mice and fruit flies, the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, is busy developing the next great model organism for science. Scientists at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, are attempting to master the art of culturing cephalopods, including these flamboyant cuttlefish embryos, as they develop a new marine model organism.
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