There are many scientific students about squid. We have a lot to learn from them as they can exist in depths of the ocean that are unseen to us.

So of course one particular interesting thing we are studying of squids is their ability to communicate in the dark. Squids at the deepest depths of the ocean are bioluminescent, and emit their own light.

Researchers at Stanford University and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) suggest that the reason that deep sea squids emit light is for visual communication.They liken the glowing lights to illuminated words on an e-book reader. The squid’s light producing muscles create backlights for the squids color changing skin.It is then suggested that squids use these light and color changing patterns to signal each other.

Squid behavior is almost impossible to study as their behavior changes when they are in captivity. So most observations of their behavior happens in the wild and with ROVs. However, with ROVs , scientists are able to observe the squids' eating behaviors and how they behave in packs. They found enough evidence to suggest that the squid's skin patterns relate to specific situations. Some patterns they observed suggested the animals were communicating precise messages to each other. Deep sea squid do not have great vision, so it is also suggested that their light producing organs help boost their visual communication abilities.

Most of these animals' light producing organs are located between their eyes and the edges of their fins.

Scientists are also studying squid brains as well. So far, they have been able to complete the first MRI map of one.

Wen-Sung Chung of the Queensland Brain Institute and his team are looking into the neural ability of the creatures and how their brain controls their camouflage abilities.They found that squid brains are more complex that rats or mice. They estimated that squid have the intelligence of an average dog.

Squids are subconsciously aware of how their skin works and can communicate complex phrases to other squids.

These scientists found out that some cephalopods have more than 500 million neurons. In comparison, rats have about 200 million.

There are certain characteristics from these creatures that scientists are trying to replicate in Humans. They recently were able to engineer human cells with squid-like transparency. Researchers at the University of California, have been studying the color changing effects of squid skin, and how it can be replicated. As well as how color changing cells could benefit human technology. Specifically,in developments of infrared camouflage and other advanced materials.

Squids such as the females in the species of Doryteuthis opalescens, evade predators by creating striped patterns across their bodies. So finding the engineering equivalent of this effect could help humans immensely.

The researchers were able to borrow some of the intracellular proteins in the creature's skin, and found a way to introduce them into human cells. They also found that this effect is transferable in many different animals.

Squids have special reflective cells called leucophores which can alter the scattering of light across their bodies. Inside of these cells are leucosomes,which are membrane-bound particles. These membrane particles are made up of proteins called reflectins. This produces the squids' camouflage abilities.
After isolating this protein, scientists were able to culture human embryonic kidney cells and genetically engineered them to contain reflectin. They then observed the new cells and watched them distribute reflectin throughout other cells.

There are also 3D simulations scientists are making of squids. Part of what scientists are simulating right now are squid’s giant axon. The axon is the part of the squid that controls jet propulsion. On average, it is around 1.5 mm in diameter. It was first discovered in 1909, but the discovery was ignored until the 1930s. The axon allows the squid to make very fast rapid movements through the water.

The applications of this study are not just limited to propulsion technology for humans. It is also applicable for developing electrically driven implants in humans. Neurons play a key role in the basics of medical research and making these implants work. The more neurons and the faster they simulate a cell, the faster an organ or device works.

Using Fitzhugh-Nagumo equations, they were able to model spike generation and propagation models for squid axons. While also using CFD. While building these models they particularly studied flying squids.(Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis (S. oualaniensis)) These are squids that leap out of the water and into the air.

By studying these squids they were able to generate flow fields of the squids “launching phase”, and the parameters the squid needs to launch itself through the air. They discovered that the creatures create a trailing jet and vortex rings to generate thrust. Their jet strategy is to produce greater time-averaged thrust, and lacks propulsion efficiency. Hence why the squids don’t stay in the air too long, or are thrusted very high.

They also found that if the squids could launch themselves at a lower angle than they currently do through the water, they could escape predators faster, and could create a larger flying speed.

Squids can also benefit humans in other ways. There is evidence to suggest that melanin in their ink can protect against Escherichia coli (E.Coli), and Listeria monocytogenes (Bacteria that causes Listeria).

The ink contains bioactive compounds that can be used as antibacterial agents. E.Coli and Listeria are bacteria that can cause food damage and disease in humans, so finding a synthetic antibacterial agent could help prevent deaths and reduce symptoms for both.

The one big factor that prevents us from commonly using the melanin from squid ink, is the fact that the ink is very hard to harvest. So developments of a synthetic version are in progress.