4. Slime Mold Proves to Be a Brainy Blob

Source:

Fountain H. Slime Mold Proves to Be a Brainy Blob. The New York Times [Internet]. 2010 Jan 25 [cited 2010 Jan 30]. Available from: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/26/science/26obmold.html?ref=science

Research on slime molds show that they are very efficient and build similar networks like those seen in the Tokyo railway system. Although a slime mold is a relatively simple organism, it is very efficient at processing food. Furthermore, it has high levels of information processing abilities. It functions by spreading out over a mass and forming tubes from the food sources to itself. Using this model, researchers laid out bits of food which represent cities in the Tokyo metropolitan area and placed the actual slime mold itself in the location of Tokyo. The slime mold was able to build a network of tubes that connects itself to all the food pieces. The pattern of connections the slime mold built resembles the pattern seen in the Tokyo railway system. The Tokyo railway system took years to build, but the slime mold took only about a day. The slime mold also tolerated breaks in the tube system like those seen in the Tokyo railway system. This finding can help build models for other railway networks and other networks such as mobile communication systems.