Evolution selects for 'loners' that hang back from collective behavior—at least in slime molds
It isn't easy being a loner—someone who resists the pull of the crowd, who marches to their own drummer.
It isn't easy being a loner—someone who resists the pull of the crowd, who marches to their own drummer.
Plants & Animals
Mar 19, 2020
15
9024
(Phys.org) —There has been a great deal of research lately on flexible electronics, but so far these devices (which are mostly made of carbon) still use metal electrodes and oxide insulators, and these rigid materials limit ...
The discovery of penicillin about 90 years ago and the widespread introduction of antibiotics to combat infectious diseases have revolutionized human medicine. However, in recent decades, the increase in multidrug-resistant ...
Cell & Microbiology
Feb 12, 2018
0
2100
A computational approach inspired by the growth patterns of a bright yellow slime mold has enabled a team of astronomers and computer scientists at UC Santa Cruz to trace the filaments of the cosmic web that connects galaxies ...
Astronomy
Mar 10, 2020
49
3007
Using a novel polymerization process, MIT chemical engineers have created a new material that is stronger than steel and as light as plastic, and can be easily manufactured in large quantities.
Materials Science
Feb 2, 2022
7
2414
Slime molds may not have brains, but that isn't preventing some computer scientists from investigating them for their potential as novel, unconventional computers. A slime mold consists of a single cell containing millions ...
A brainless, primeval organism able to navigate a maze might help Japanese scientists devise the ideal transport network design. Not bad for a mono-cellular being that lives on rotting leaves.
Cell & Microbiology
Dec 28, 2011
5
0
In a new paper published in Nature Precedings, Andrew Adamatzky from the University of the West of England shows that slime molds like Physarum polycephalum prefers sleeping pills and their sedative effects over their standard ...
Nature has provided a great deal of inspiration for computer scientists developing search algorithms and ways to solve complicated problems with as little computing power as possible. Ant colonies, beehives, bat hunting, ...
Mathematics
Feb 27, 2020
0
7
(PhysOrg.com) -- Imagine a material that's stronger than steel, but just as versatile as plastic, able to take on a seemingly endless variety of forms. For decades, materials scientists have been trying to come up with just ...
Materials Science
Mar 1, 2011
18
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