slime mold, microbiology

The poorly understood Fonticula alba, a relative of fungi and animals, hunts bacteria with a mechanism that resembles cancer and fungal growth.

At Hampshire College, students and faculty use the amoeba Physarum polycephalum—both a “visiting scholar” and a model organism—to examine human societal and political quandaries.  

A form of spatial memory helps a brainless slime mold navigate complex environments, hinting at the possible origins of memory in higher organisms.