Slime that can 'think' its way through a maze could turn our idea of intelligence upside down
Daily Mail/28th December 2011
Amoeboid yellow slime mould might seem an unlikely candidate to become the basis of future 'bio computers', but scientists in Japan say that the mould shows unlikely signs of intelligence.
Colonies of the mould appear to be able to 'organise' themselves so that they take the most direct route through a maze to find food, while at the same time avoiding damage from light.
The mould even appears to be able to 'remember' dangers and avoid them.
The long-lived organism - it's been around for hundreds of millions of years - appears to have evolved to deal with dangerous environments.
It's a task that would be beyond the capability of many advanced computers and software packages - and a level of 'information processing' that most of us wouldn't believe a single-celled organism would be capable of.
Toshiyuki Nakagaki, of Future University Hakodate told AFP, 'Simple creatures can solve certain kinds of difficult puzzles. If you want to spotlight the essence of intelligence, it's easier to use these simple creatures.'
The slime moulds are not intelligent as we understand it, but by flexibly responding to stresses such as light, and adapting, they are able to solve navigation problems that would baffle computers.
The mould cells appear to operate as a 'network' that can even remember when they experienced stresses and dangers, and adapt.
These primitive networks could be the key to building a new generation of biological computers, say researchers.