Slime molds may not have brains, but that isn't preventing some computer scientists from investigating them for their potential as novel, unconventional computers. A slime mold consists of a single cell containing millions of nuclei, and forms a network of protoplasmic tubes to move toward its food source along nearly the shortest paths. Since the challenge of finding the shortest path between two points is a much studied problem in computing, with applications in communication networks, robot path planning, and optimization, slime molds may hold some untapped potential for these areas.
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