It may sound like the perfect date; in reality, it’s what grows on rotten tree stumps and piles of dog vomit (see left). These amoeba-like organisms feed on microorganisms in decaying vegetable matter, and when they find the right kind of food they can grow very large — up to several meters in diameter. Made up of a mass of protoplasm embedded with multiple nuclei, they lack individual cell walls. The adult feeding stage, called a plasmodium, is a “glistening mass of mucus which swarms over and engulfs its food [Link].” They’re also the fastest organism of their kind — under the right conditions, observed under a microscope, you can see a silme mold’s cytoplasm stream at speeds up to 1.35 mm/second. (Seriously, that’s formula-one level fast when it comes to microscopic movement.)
For years, science fiction stories have traded on the notion that slime molds can become intelligent — even scheming. For instance, Philip K. Dick’s novel Clans of the Alphane Moon featured a character called Lord Running Clam who was an intelligent slime mold who can speak and has telepathic powers. But in 2000, a group of Japanese scientists proved that slime molds do indeed have a primitive form of intelligence, setting up an experiment in which a slime mold found its way through a maze, “negotiating the shortest route, forgoing three longer paths.” (Here’s the link.)
Besides being intelligent and kind of interesting, they can also be striking beautiful, and take very different forms. A Russian photographer has made it his passion to photograph different kinds of slime molds, and we wanted to feature some of his best work here.
Comments (11)
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When I read about the Ignoble winners this morning…my first thought on reading the guys who did the slime experiment was – that is a perfectly good research! whats so funny? but its great they got the ignoble!
posted by septer on 10-3-2008 at 12:20 pm
ok, I won’t be finishing the rest of my lunch today :)
posted by cb on 10-3-2008 at 12:44 pm
Reading this post reminded me of my high school years. . .
When I was taking biology as a freshman, my lab partners and I drew faces on all the pictures of the mold in our textbooks. The class was that interesting.
posted by andrea on 10-3-2008 at 1:46 pm
well now i don’t have to decide what i want for lunch… in fact i’ll probably skip dinner too.
posted by mb on 10-3-2008 at 1:57 pm
When I first read the headline, I thought this was a thread about Sarah Palin.
posted by Sheldon Siegel on 10-3-2008 at 3:03 pm
Hey Sheldon – now that’s some brilliant analysis. What grade are you in – first or second?
posted by EA on 10-3-2008 at 3:15 pm
Where can I buy prints of these photos? They are amazing!
recaptcha: i fastidious
posted by Miss Priss on 10-3-2008 at 6:06 pm
great pics! never thought to see close up pictures of slime outside of a bio book
posted by krazd on 10-4-2008 at 5:57 am
woww, the last image is awesome!
posted by Chriisz on 10-4-2008 at 10:52 pm
Ohh boy… The biology nerd side of me is shivering with delight at this article. Look at those photos!
posted by Araxie on 1-12-2012 at 12:24 pm
I know! I think this article is fantastic. :D
posted by Heather on 1-18-2012 at 3:54 pm