Paint that can change colors? The skin of an octopus holds the key, say researchers

When you think of an octopus, you might be envious of its eight limbs. After all, there's a lot to be done with eight arms. But scientists are a bit more interested in something else: its skin.

- Erin Kayata

Cephalopods like octopi and squid change colors rapidly in response to threats or even just changes in light thanks to xanthommatin, a naturally occurring dye present in their bodies. Researchers at Northeastern University's Kostas Research Institute work with a synthesized version of this dye, experimenting to create colorants that change in response to different stimuli. Their latest discovery: using this to create paint that can change colors when exposed to light, notes Erin Kayata in a press communique from the University.

KRI focuses its work on interesting components from natural materials, Cassandra Martin, a research scientist at the institute, said, looking into ways those components can be replicated and used in the real world. Cephalopods have been a starting point due to the unique nature of their skin.

"Their color change is so rapid and it's so vibrant and it's so intense," Martin said. "There's not a lot of natural systems out there that change that fast and there's not a lot of color-changing materials that are that fast without requiring a lot of external (changes)."