The Key to Better DVD Players: Shrimp Eyes

Sometimes, you’ve got to marvel at the link between science and technology, which in this case sees a better DVD player in the eyes of shrimp. British scientists say that Mantis shrimp, also known as “thumb splitters” for the way they nab at divers with their claws, have the most complex eyes in the animal kingdom. If only we can replicate what’s going on there, we’ll have DVD players that are far more advanced than today’s models. It’s all about color: These shrimp, which reside in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, can see 12 primary colors, rather than the three color receptors found in human eyes. They do this with the help of light-sensitive cells, which rotate the light’s plane of polarization as it moves through the eye.

DVD and CD players work the same way, but they only excel in handling one color, while thumb splitters’ eyes handle the entire color spectrum with ease. If scientists can tap the workings of these shrimp eyes, we’ll have DVD players that can handle a lot more information. It’s not clear from Reuters’ report how exactly this would improve the viewing experience, but I’m guessing it has something to do with richer colors than ever before. Liquid crystals could mimic the shrimp eyes in a lab, though there’s no word on whether we’ll ever see this technology in action. Optical media’s going to die anyway, so let’s all just shoot for Mantis shrimp eye implants instead. [Reuters via GizmoWatch]