Name: Slime Mold Smarts
Uploaded: undefined
Duration: undefined

NOVA ScienceNOW

Produced for NOVA and Scientific American  by Anna Rothschild and Ferris Jabr    Written by   Anna Rothschild and Ferris Jabr    Animated and Edited by  Anna Rothschild    Production Help from  Allison Eck    Original Footage  ©WGBH Educational Foundation 2012    (Trans-Canadian Slimeways video)  Courtesy Professor Andrew Adamatzky, UWE, Bristol    (slime in petri dish)  Courtesy Audrey Dussutour

Slime molds may be brainless, but they aren’t stupid.

Slime Mold Smarts

The National Science Foundation

Koch Foundation

NOVA Science Trust Logo

the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

<div class="rich-text"><p>
	The slime mold <span class="science-term">Physarum polycephalum</span> is a single cell without a brain, yet it can make surprisingly complicated decisions. In this animated video short, watch as a slime mold navigates through a maze and solves a civil engineering problem.</p>
<p class="note">
	Learn more about slime molds at <em><a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=brainless-slime-molds">Scientific American</a></em>.</p>
</div>

Slime molds may be brainless, but they aren't stupid.

<div class="rich-text">Slime molds may be brainless, but they aren't stupid.</div>

Nature

<div class="rich-text"><h3>
 Slime Mold Smarts
</h3>
<p>
 Posted: November 8, 2012
</p>
<p>
<em>
  Narrator:
 </em>
 Meet the slime mold
 <i>
  Physarum polycephalum
 </i>
 . It looks kind of like a fungus, but it's actually a single celled life-form known as a protist. The thing about
 <i>
  Physarum
 </i>
 is that it doesn't have a brain or even a nervous system. But nevertheless, it can make surprisingly sophisticated decisions.
</p>
<p>
 For example, slime molds can find the shortest route through a maze towards a piece of food. First, the slime mold extends its tendrils through every corridor, essentially mapping the entire maze. It then retracts every tendril that didn't find food, leaving behind a trail of slime that acts as a kind of external memory. The trail reminds the slime mold that certain corridors are dead ends. It avoids these areas and grows exclusively along the shortest path from the beginning of the maze to the tasty treat.
</p>
<p>
 But that's not all. After scientists placed food in the relative position of major cities and urban areas, slime molds accurately recreated the rail system of Tokyo, and the major roadways of England, Canada, Spain, and Portugal. In other words, this one cell solved a real world problem that it took teams of engineers to figure out.
</p>
<p>
 This might not sound like rocket science, but these experiments are just the beginning: researchers are discovering more examples of
 <i>
  Physarum
 </i>
 's slimy smarts all the time. And this single-celled organism is proving that complex decision making doesn't require a big brain. In fact, it doesn't require a brain at all.
</p></div>

United States

Northern Mariana Islands

Puerto Rico

American Samoa

Guam

U.S. Virgin Islands

U.S. Minor Outlying Islands

US & Territories

<p>NOVA investigates the story of cannabis from the criminalization that has disproportionately harmed communities of color to the latest medical understanding of the plant. What risks does cannabis pose to the developing brain? How much do we know about its potential medical benefits? As cannabis becomes socially accepted, scientists are exploring its long-term health consequences. (Premiered September 29, 2021)</p><p>Check out a previously recorded panel discussion and audience Q&amp;A featuring experts and producers from "The Cannabis Question" <a href="https://youtu.be/nSTT5RZ_hxA">here</a>.</p>

<p>As state-legalized cannabis spreads, NOVA explores its little-known risks and benefits.</p>

The Cannabis Question

A 2006 composite image from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and Spitzer Telescope shows the chaos of baby stars in the Orion nebula some 1,500 light-years away. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/STScI

<p>With the upcoming launch of the James Webb Space Telescope, the Hubble era is gradually drawing to a close. Here are some highlights from the countless wonders Hubble has shown us during its 31 years in space.</p>

10 spectacular Hubble Space Telescope images

A statue of Zheng He at the Sam Poo Kong Temple in Java, Indonesia. Image Credit: Budianto Santosa, Shutterstock

<p>In the 1400s, Zheng He sailed thousands of miles around Asia and Africa in ships the size of soccer fields, spreading Chinese innovations like compasses and gunpowder in the process. </p>

Transcript

Credits

Support Provided By