GMU:Habitats SS18/Physarum Polycephalum

Related Projects

Theresa Schubert

bodymetries, 2013

“In bodymetries visitors can experience virtual slime mould growth on their skin. Visitors enter a semi dark room with a bar table in the center. Some wobbling blobs appear on a small sections of the surface. Visitors are invited to lay their arms onto the desk. The system ‘scans’ it by taking and analysing a picture. The slime mould algorithm starts to grow from the darkest area it can find on the skin.”(http://theresaschubert.com/arts-experiments/art/bodymetries-mapping-the-human-body-through-amorphous-intelligence)

James Whitting, Ben De Lacy Costello, Andrew Adamatzky

Sonification

Towards slime mould chemical sensor: Mapping chemical inputs onto electrical potential dynamics of Physarum Polycephalum Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical. response to BenzylAlcohol https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byTJEYHaIIM https://soundcloud.com/lessnullvoid/physarum-sonification

Toshiyuki Nakagaki

Experiments with Physarum polycefalum finding the shortest way to the food source through the maze

3-5 min @ Heather Barnett: What humans can learn from semi-intelligent slime https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UxGrde1NDA

Physarum Polycefalum

“Slime mold is an informal name given to several kinds of unrelated eukaryotic organisms that can live freely as single cells, but aggregate together to form multicellular reproductive structures.”(Wikipedia) Slime molds belong to Protista, that is neither animal, nor fungi nor bacteria. They feed on microorganisms. “When food is in short supply, many of these single-celled organisms will congregate and start moving as a single body. In this state they are sensitive to airborne chemicals and can detect food sources. They can readily change the shape and function of parts and may form stalks that produce fruiting bodies, releasing countless spores”(Wikipedia)

"Physarum polycephalum, literally the "many-headed slime", is a slime mold that inhabits shady, cool, moist areas, such as decaying leaves and logs. Like slime molds in general, it is sensitive to light; in particular, light can repel the slime mold and be a factor in triggering spore growth."(wikipedia) It feeds on bacteria, spores and other microbial creatures.

Gallery

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life cycle

• Vegetative phase: plasmodium (consists of networks of protoplasmic veins, and many nuclei)
• sclerotium (hardened multinucleated tissue)
• sporangia

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References

• Wikipedia (a). Slime mold. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slime_mold (Accessed 6 December 2016).
• Wikipedia (b). Physarum polycephalum. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physarum_polycephalum (Accessed 8 December 2015).