It isn't an animal, a plant, or a fungus. The slime mold (Physarum polycephalum) is a strange, creeping, bloblike organism made up of one giant cell. Though it has no brain, it can learn from experience, as biologists at ...
Cell & Microbiology
Dec 21, 2016
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135
How do organisms without brains make decisions? Most of life is brainless and the vast majority of organisms on Earth lack neurons altogether. Plants, fungi and bacteria must all cope with the same problem as humans - to ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 8, 2016
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234
How white blood cells in our immune systems home in on and engulf bacterial invaders—like humans following the scent of oven-fresh pizza—has long been a mystery to scientists.
Cell & Microbiology
May 26, 2016
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7
Scientists from Greece and the UK have used slime moulds to help look back to a period from the 1st century BC to the 4th century AD when Roman roads were being built in the Balkans.
Archaeology
Mar 11, 2015
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University of Guelph researchers have unravelled some of the inner workings of slime produced by one of nature's most bizarre creatures – hagfish.
Materials Science
Apr 4, 2014
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A future computer might be a lot slimier than the solid silicon devices we have today. In a study published in the journal Materials Today, European researchers reveal details of logic units built using living slime molds, ...
Nanophysics
Mar 27, 2014
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(Phys.org) —In a world full of hungry predators, prey animals must be constantly vigilant to avoid getting eaten. But plants face a particular challenge when it comes to defending themselves.
Plants & Animals
Aug 7, 2013
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(Phys.org) —Researchers at the University of the West of England have found that the feeding fronds on a type of slime mold have a property known memory resistance, which has been shortened to the term memristance. In their ...
Swarming is the spontaneous organised motion of a large number of individuals. It is observed at all scales, from bacterial colonies, slime moulds and groups of insects to shoals of fish, flocks of birds and animal herds. ...
General Physics
Mar 15, 2013
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(Phys.org)—Researchers with the Interdisciplinary Centre for Computer Music Research at Plymouth University in the UK have created a form of music based on the electrical output of the common slime mold. By inducing the ...
