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Re:Four new DNA letters double life’s alphabet by tachyonbeam on Friday February 22, 2019 @03:50PM (#19228977)
Fun aside: your mention of the mantis shrimp led me to google image search them, and it turns out that they are very colorful creatures (http://caradonnajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Peaco...). Their special visual system and bright colors are likely a result of sexual selection.
Re:Four new DNA letters double life’s alphabet by feedbeef on Saturday February 23, 2019 @10:37PM (#19236967)
Mantis shrimp pack a really strong punch too. Truly fascinating creatures.

https://www.ted.com/talks/sheila_patek_clocks_the_fastest_an...

Re:Four new DNA letters double life’s alphabet by mattkrause on Sunday February 24, 2019 @05:03PM (#19240899)
Yup! They're one of the few animals that can see circularly-polarized light, and the quarter-wave retarders in their eyes are really damn good.

As of a few years ago, they had a much wider wavelength range (400-700 nm) than the best man-made ones, which were only achromatic over ~100 nm.