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Eight arms, endless skills: New study finds an octopus' arms can do it all

By Nell Greenfieldboyce

Published September 16, 2025 at 4:08 AM EDT

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Researchers studied octopuses in the wild to learn whether they favor one of their eight arms over the others for certain jobs, but found the creatures give new meaning to ambidextrous.

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Nell Greenfieldboyce

Nell Greenfieldboyce is a NPR science correspondent.

See stories by Nell Greenfieldboyce