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Šiesty deň ráno Chiara pripravila kávu. Sadla si k nádrži s Polly.

On the sixth morning, Chiara made coffee. She sat by the tank with Polly.

Pasta visela dole hlavou. Jej telo sa pomaly pulzovalo. Ruky sa jej vznášali.

Pasta was hanging upside down. Her body pulsed slowly. Her arms drifted.

"Chcem ti povedať ešte jednu vec," povedala Chiara. "Je to tá najzvláštnejšia vec, ktorú viem o chobotniciach."

"I want to tell you one more thing," Chiara said. "It is the strangest thing I know about octopuses."

DNA je dlhodobý plán zvieraťa. RNA je pracovná kópia.

DNA is the long-term plan of an animal. RNA is the working copy.

U väčšiny zvierat sa RNA zhoduje s DNA. Ale u chobotníc sa RNA nezhoduje. Bunka prepisuje časti RNA, keď ju vytvára. Väčšina úprav sa deje v nervovom systéme.

In most animals, the RNA matches the DNA. But in octopuses, the RNA does not match. The cell rewrites parts of the RNA as it makes it. Most of the edits happen in the nervous system.

"Prečo?" povedala Chiara. "To umožňuje chobotnici meniť svoj nervový systém. Môže si naladiť vlastný mozog na teplotu vody alebo na svoju potravu."

"Why?" Chiara said. "It lets the octopus change its nervous system. It can tune its own brain to the water temperature or to its food."

Pasta sa vznášala. Koža pri očiach sa jej zmenila na jemnú ružovú a hnedú.

Pasta drifted. Her skin near the eyes turned soft pink and brown.

"Každá chobotnica je trochu iné zviera," povedala Chiara. "Rovnaká DNA. Ale pracovný mechanizmus je zostavený nanovo, pre tú vodu a tú potravu."

"Each octopus is a slightly different animal," Chiara said. "Same DNA. But the working machinery is built fresh, for that water and that food."

Polly premýšľala o svojom vlastnom mozgu. Bol jej. Nechcela, aby sa zmenil. Ale páčilo sa jej vedieť, že existujú zvieratá ako Pasta.

Polly thought about her own brain. It was hers. She did not want it to change. But she liked knowing that animals like Pasta existed.