<a href="http://strangeattractor.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/06cda45a-f938-9de3-0581432855dffb9a.jpg" title="06cda45a-f938-9de3-0581432855dffb9a.jpg"><img src="http://strangeattractor.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/06cda45a-f938-9de3-0581432855dffb9a.jpg" alt="06cda45a-f938-9de3-0581432855dffb9a.jpg" align="left" border="0" height="222" hspace="8" vspace="8" width="299" /></a>You're looking at the beak of the fearsome Humboldt squid, <em>Dosidicus gigas</em> – up to 14 feet of cephalopodic bad attitude known for its <a href="http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/archives/2005/2005-Mar-10/Article.cover_story/1/@@index" target="_blank">attacks</a> on human divers in the Pacific. This can chop its way through a fishy spinal cord in moments.

We can always trust scientists to ask, and even sometimes answer, the important questions in life. Such as: how does a squid manage to keep its beak in place when wrestling with its prey? A team at UC Santa Barbara has <a href="http://www.sciam.com/gallery_directory.cfm?photo_id=06CDA45A-F938-9DE3-0581432855DFFB9A&amp;sc=rss" target="_blank">the answer</a> and is looking for human-world applications for their research. So, any one else want a beak?

From <a href="http://www.sciam.com/gallery_directory.cfm?photo_id=06CDA45A-F938-9DE3-0581432855DFFB9A&amp;sc=rss">Scientific American</a>