Nakagakia mathematical model for adaptive transport network in path finding by true slime mold. If the interstate system were designed by a slime mold how a brainless, singlecelled organism created a startlingly efficient route map for u. It is not pretty, unless you like yellow, and it soon gets uglier. Slime mold grows network just like tokyo rail system wired. Consider the amazing ability of a humble amoeba, the slime mold, a brainless singlecelled organism, to solve a maze or recreate the transportation network of tokyo on a map. Efficient methods of a slime mold could inform human engineers. Slime mold or slime mould is an informal name given to several kinds of unrelated eukaryotic organisms that can live freely as single cells, but can aggregate together to form multicellular reproductive structures. The worlds colonisation and trade routes formation as.
The network strikingly resembled tokyos rail system. Slime mold, in fact, is a soildwelling amoeba, a brainless, singlecelled organism, often containing. In this work we study and expand a model describing the dynamics of a unicellular slime mold, physarum polycephalum pp, which was proposed to simulate the ability of pp to nd the shortest path connecting. Starting in beijing, the slime mold physarum polycephalum developed. Can you name an organism that isnt a plant, animal, or fungus. He showed that the slime molds transport routes closely approximate route 20, which at 5415 km 3365 miles is the longest road in the us, and autobahn 7. He has even developed a computer model of the slime mold s decision making and set it loose on a map of the united. The slime mold s uncanny ability to solve problems in a maze or network. Slime mold and the tokyo subway system distribution networks. They leave behind a trail dead cells as they travel.
Brainless slime mold builds a replica tokyo subway. Tokyo rail network designed by physarum plasmodium. Such and similar results have spawned a number of projects aiming at the simulation of the slime mold s behavior 27, 9, 26, 12. In 2009, atsushi tero, from hokkaido university, released a slime mold onto a petri dish modeled on a map of the greater tokyo area, with bits of food standing in. A mysterious power of the yellow slime mojihokori that solves the. Furthermore, it was discovered that the slime mould showed phaselocking behavior with light. A leading expert in slime molds has written a field guide. Comparison of the physarum networks with the tokyo rail network. Slime mold proves to be a brainy blob the new york times. Trail avoidance, spatial pattern recognition, and tubule. Brainless slime mold builds a replica tokyo subway discover.
We show that the slime mold physarum polycephalum forms networks with comparable. From slime to networks university of illinois at urbana. Slime molds were formerly classified as fungi but are no longer considered part of that kingdom. We propose a new solver for the steiner tree problem, inspired by a true slime mold physarum polycephalum. After a day, it created a network almost identical to tokyo s actual rail network.
This setup produces a network of trails that just so happen to look a lot like your citys commuterrail map. The blob develops its network of nerves across the map, linking cities more efficiently than the existing rail system the paths the blob creates are both shorter and less redundant. Rapid physarum algorithm for shortest path problem. Slime mold cells prefer to live on upright structures, like trees and plants, and tend to grow upward until food is reached. Slime molds were formerly classified as fungi but are no longer considered part of th. Til that when placed on maps using food sources as cities, slime molds have almost perfectly replicated major train systems in europe, the usa, tokyo, and canada. Light induced behaviour of the physarum polycephalum.
In each direction, the slime mold encountered discrete patches of food, more or less regularly distributed. The author may supply pdf versions of the paper on request. There were very few each year until about 1950, and then there was a change in pace. Slime mold beats humans at perfecting traffic networks live. Slime mold physarum polycephalum growing on map of france. We show that the slime mold physarum polycephalum forms networks with. Brainless slime builds tokyo subway model cbs news. Slime mold gives insight into the intelligence of neuron.
The slime mold physarum plasmodium exhibits some remarkable behavior. In a recent experiment, slime mold was placed where tokyo would be, bounded by the pacific ocean white border and surrounded by food. A method inspired by physarum for solving the steiner. Til scientists put slime mold onto a model of a map of tokyo, with food representing urban centers. Because they couldnt mathematically determine a perfect solution, the researchers decided to task the slime mold with a problem human. The capital cities canberra and wellington are by no means in the list of largest cities or metropolitan areas, however they were included to give slime mould a change to move to these countries. The tokyo subway study was published in science in early 2010. Tokyo, but its use of the natural landscape is also remarkable. Slime mold form a map of the tokyoarea railway system youtube. Japanese researchers claim ig nobel for comparing slime. In 2010, the hokkaido university team once again dove into the wild world of physarum polycephalum this time, with the goal of displaying its aptitude for forming efficient networks. How brainless slime molds redefine intelligence nature.
The yellow blob turns gray, becomes hard, then breaks down into a brown powder. By about 1980 there was a great rise to over 200 publications per year. Japanese researchers claim ig nobel for comparing slime mold to tokyo rail network by tokyo reporter staff on october 1, 2010 1,200 guests were on hand at ceremony at harvard universitys sanders theatre cambridge, ma tr researchers at two japanese universities were on thursday awarded an ig nobel prize for demonstrating that slime mold. Pdf rules for biologically inspired adaptive network design. Human designers created that network to be as efficient as possible. Slime mold or slime mould is an informal name given to several kinds of unrelated eukaryotic.
Slime molds were formerly classified as fungi but are. It took human engineers years to map out the system. Slime mold gives insight into the intelligence of neuronless organisms. This problem involves finding the network that connects multiple points on a plane. Slime mold validates efficiency of tokyo rail network.
Talented and dedicated engineers spent countless hours designing japans rail system to be one of the worlds most efficient. Request pdf thirty seven things to do with live slime mould slime mould physarum polycephalum is a large single cell capable for distributed sensing, concurrent information processing. Slime molds a bright yellow slimy blob is commonly seen in the summer on mulched flower beds. Slime as engineer brainless mold mimics tokyo subway. Looking for true intelligence, study shows that slime molds can learn. Scientific american is the essential guide to the most aweinspiring. American association for the advancement of science. The vast majority of these are molecular, although there also has been a.
Keeping slime moulds as pets the slime mould physarum polycephalum is very easy to keep, its harmless and undemanding, it can live on a sheet of kitchen towel in an old margarine tub and needs just oats for food. The brainless slime that can learn by fusing the atlantic. Image of slime mold s network construction among food sources after 26 hours yellow tokyo is the mold center and white dots were food placed in. The physarum polycephalum experience enrico facca, franco cardin and mario putti abstract. How brainless slime molds redefine intelligence video scientific. The left image shows slime mold growing out from an initial food source to colonize other food sources white dots arranged like a map of tokyo rail stations. As a result, former trails avert the slime mold from areas where it or another has already been, making slime trail effectively an external memory map that optimizes foraging reid et al.
Slime mold form a map of the tokyoarea railway system. If the interstate system were designed by a slime mold. See also being slime mould, an embodied collective experiment challenging groups of humans to test their capacity for communication and cooperation against that. When presented with oat flakes arranged in the pattern of japanese cities around tokyo, brainless, singlecelled slime molds construct. By traveling from city to city on a map, microscopic protists known as slime molds have figured out how to take over the world. In an amazing 2010 study, pieces of food were placed on an agar plate in the relative locations of japanese towns around tokyo. When the researchers place food at cities on the map, the fungus collaborates, spreading out to map many possible configurations and then. The term slime mold embraces a heterogeneous assemblage of organisms whose juxtaposition reflects a historical confusion between superficial resemblances and actual. The result the mold recapitulated the tokyo rail system map.
Thirty seven things to do with live slime mould request pdf. They placed the slime mold in the position of the city, and dispersed bits of oat around the map in the. Rules for biologically inspired adaptive network design pdf. Rules for biologically inspired adaptive network design science. The physarum polycephalum genome reveals extensive use of.
A group for id, discussion and photos of slime molds. The micro structure of the universe explains how it works. Researchers recreated a miniature version of the tokyo railway network, using a quaker oat to represent each city, then placed the slime mold on the oat representing tokyo. When scientists model metropolitan areas in this manner, with the food representing centers of dense populations, slime mold can somewhat accurately recreate maps like this map of the tokyo rail system. Reid thinks that a polycephalum in a labyrinth is similarly dependent on its slime, using it to first map. Making maps and mazes for them to solve and explore is easy to do. The physarum polycephalum the manyheaded slime is a lightshunning member of the true slime. Researchers in japan have shown that a slime mold can design a network that is as efficient as one developed by humans over many years. Yet at present no universal explanation has emerged.
When the researchers place food at cities on the map, the fungus collaborates, spreading out to map many possible configurations and then dying away to highl. The slime molds behavior is analyzed and general rules are extracted. Tokyo railway optimal path design and slime mould a single celled organism can do optimization as good as hundreds of engineering minds put. Tokyo rail network designed by physarum plasmodium youtube. In this science fair project, grow the acellular slime mold physarum polycephalum and test its ability to find the shortest path through a maze. Its lead author, atsushi tero of hokkaido university, believes that studying how the slime mold solves complex design problems could help urban planners solve theirs. Course csysmath 303, spring 2010, university of vermont. Slime mold form a map of the tokyo area railway system duration.
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