An unusually thick ( approximately 1 cm) slime developed on a slump of finely disseminated pyrite ore within an extreme acid mine drainage site at Iron Mountain, near Redding, Calif. The slime was studied over the period of 1 year. The subaerial form of the slime distinguished it from more typical submerged streamers. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA genes revealed a diversity of sequences tha...

What has evolved in the ca 3.5 billion years of biological evolution on earth? A first answer which may spring to mind is your favorite organism, be it elephant, fly, slime mold, microbe or man. Other answers might be the stunning apparent diversity of lifeforms, or the greatly enhanced energy cycling at the earth surface. Or all this may be simplified to characterizing what has evolved as ’com...

In a world where news are delivered in an instant around the world, where the population of a network service is around twice the one of the USA and where an natural catastrophe can lead to a chain reaction a reliable infrastructure is the key to survival. This insight has motivated a diverse group of researchers to seek understanding of the resilient infrastructure of nature surrounding our ev...

This paper reports on the recent outcomes from our research into Unconventional Computing for sound and music using slime mould of Physarum polycephalum. This slime mould is a huge single cell with thousands of nuclei, which behaves like a giant amoeba. During its foraging behaviour it produces electrical activity corresponding to different physiological states. We developed a method to render ...

True slime mould Physarum polycephalum approximates a range of complex computations via growth and adaptation of its protoplasmic transport network, stimulating a large body of recent research into how such a simple organism can perform such complex feats. The properties of networks constructed by slime mould are known to be influenced by the local distribution of stimuli within its environment...

Asymmetric electrical contact (gold and indium) was performed to the slime mold. Electrical characterization of such structure revealed rectifying behavior due to the Schottky effect and a hysteresis due to the electro-chemical activity within the slime mold. Physarum polycephalum belongs to the species of order Physarales, subclass Myxogastromycetidae, class Myxomycetes, and division Myxosteli...

Onychophora are ancient, carnivorous soft-bodied invertebrates which capture their prey in slime that originates from dedicated glands located on either side of the head. While the biochemical composition of the slime is known, its unusual nature and the mechanism of ensnaring thread formation have remained elusive. We have examined gene expression in the slime gland from an Australian onychoph...

BACKGROUND The myxomycetes derive their common name (slime molds) from the multinucleate trophic stage (plasmodium) in the life cycle, which typically produces a noticeable amount of slimy materials, some of which is normally left behind as a "slime track" as the plasmodium migrates over the surface of a particular substrate. The study reported herein apparently represents the first attempt to ...

Recently, a severe slime mold infestation affected oriental melon plants in fields in Chilgok county, Gyeongbuk province, Korea. Specimens were collected from the fields and examined for identification. A species of Myxomycetes, Fuligo gyrosa, was identified based on its morphological characteristics. This is the first report that F. gyrosa causes slime mold of oriental melon.

We discuss potential chemical substances responsible for attracting acellular slime mold Physarun polycephalum to valerian root. The contributes toward fundamental research into pheromones and chemo-attracts of primitive organisms such as slime molds. The results show that significant information could be gained about the action of compounds on higher organisms.