Physarum polycephalum

Slime mold

Mid: slime

Many-headed (polycephalum) slime mold

Mid: slime

polycephalum is a single cellfilled with manyinteracting nuclei

Mid: slime

Mid: slime

all dark

all dark

Minimal-risk-path

task

Mid: slime

Nakagaki, et al., preprint

all dark

all dark

lightdark

lightdark

lightdark

Mid: slime

start

Mid: slime

few hours laterstart

Shortest-path -through-maze

task

Mid: slime

Nakagaki, et al., NATURE VOL 407 p470 28 SEPTEMBER 2000

NP hard

few hours laterstart “finally”

Mid: slime

Tero, et al., SCIENCE VOL 327 p439 22 JANUARY 2010

start

Tokyo-railway-system

task

Mid: slime

Tero, et al., SCIENCE VOL 327 p439 22 JANUARY 2010

NP hard

start

end

Mid: slimeSaigusa, et al., PRL 100, 018101 (2008)

time

Mid: slimeSaigusa, et al., PRL 100, 018101 (2008)

time

Learns

Mid: slimeSaigusa, et al., PRL 100, 018101 (2008)

time

Learns

Mid: slimeSaigusa, et al., PRL 100, 018101 (2008)

time

Learns Recalls

Mid: slimeSaigusa, et al., PRL 100, 018101 (2008)

time

Learns RecallsRemember

-to-stoptask

Mid: slimeSaigusa, et al., PRL 100, 018101 (2008)

time

FISH Experiment

FISH Experiment

FISH Experiment

STUCK !

FISH Experiment

FISH Experiment

CONSENSUS !

Epi

Stuck ?

Stomata

Stomatal Patchiness

Mid: leaves

Brains make patches, too

Mid: nets

Mid: nets

White?

Black?or

Easy w CPU,not so easy w/o