Laura Smith
In 2010, researchers from Japan and the UK placed oat flakes in a pattern that mimicked the way cities are scattered around Tokyo. They then set a slime mold loose and allowed it to grow outwards from the center. The slime mold, a brainless, single-celled organism, constructed a network of nutrient-channeling tubes that were strikingly similar to the layout of the Japanese rail system. This revelation sparked the emergence of what is now known as biologically inspired adaptive network design, which could be used to design more efficient transportation networks.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Type of slime mold | Yellow slime mold, Physarum polycephalum |
| Slime mold characteristics | Single-celled, visible to the naked eye, brainless |
| Experiment setup | Oat flakes arranged in the pattern of cities around Tokyo |
| Result | A network of tubes strikingly similar to the Tokyo subway system |
| Other applications | Designing transportation, freight, and energy networks |
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What You'll Learn
- The yellow slime mold, Physarum polycephalum, is a single-celled organism that can be seen with the naked eye
- Researchers replicated the layout of cities surrounding Tokyo with oat flakes and slime mold
- The slime mold created a network of nutrient-channeling tubes that resembled the Tokyo subway system
- The experiment sparked the emergence of biologically inspired adaptive network design
- The slime mold's efficient organic structure could provide a model for optimizing transportation networks
The yellow slime mold, Physarum polycephalum, is a single-celled organism that can be seen with the naked eye
In an experiment conducted in 2010, researchers from Japan and the United Kingdom observed the behaviour of Physarum polycephalum in relation to scattered food sources. Led by Toshiyuki Nakagaki of Hokkaido University in Japan, the team arranged oat flakes in a pattern mimicking the layout of cities around Tokyo. The slime mold was then introduced and allowed to grow outwards from the centre.
Initially, the slime mold dispersed evenly, exploring its surroundings. However, within hours, it began to strengthen the tunnels between certain oat flakes while other links gradually disappeared. After about a day, the slime mold had constructed a network of interconnected tubes that bore a striking resemblance to the rail system surrounding Tokyo. The network created by the slime mold was comparable in efficiency, reliability, and cost to the real-world infrastructure of the Tokyo train network.
This experiment sparked interest in the potential of biologically inspired adaptive network design. The simple rules governing the slime mold's behaviour could inform the design of more efficient and adaptable networks, including those for transportation, freight, and energy transfer. By understanding and modelling the behaviour of this single-celled organism, researchers aim to optimise networks in various domains, making them less prone to disruption and more efficient in transferring people, goods, and resources.
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Researchers replicated the layout of cities surrounding Tokyo with oat flakes and slime mold
In 2010, researchers from Japan and the UK conducted an experiment to test whether slime-mold networks could replicate train and car traffic networks. Led by Toshiyuki Nakagaki and Atsushi Tero from Hokkaido University in Japan, the team placed oat flakes (a slime mold delicacy) in a pattern that imitated the layout of cities surrounding Tokyo. They also added areas of bright light, which slime mold tends to avoid, to represent mountains or other geographical features.
The slime mold, Physarum polycephalum, is a single-celled organism that grows large enough to be seen with the naked eye. When presented with multiple food sources, it surrounds the food and creates tunnels to efficiently distribute nutrients. In the experiment, the researchers allowed the slime mold to self-organize and spread out from the oat flakes. Initially, the slime mold dispersed evenly, exploring its new environment. However, within hours, it began to strengthen the tunnels between certain oat flakes while other links gradually disappeared.
After about a day, the slime mold had constructed a network of interconnected tubes that looked strikingly similar to the rail system surrounding Tokyo. The network formed by the slime mold was comparable in efficiency, reliability, and cost to the real-world infrastructure of Tokyo's train network. This discovery has sparked interest in biologically inspired adaptive network design and the potential for using slime mold models to optimize transportation, freight, and energy networks in cities.
The revelation that slime mold can replicate complex transportation networks has important implications for city planning and network construction. By capturing the essence of this ancient adaptive network formation system, engineers and researchers can develop new algorithms and models to design more efficient and adaptable networks. For example, researchers from the University of Toronto created a computer model of Physarum polycephalum to simulate how the slime mold constructs its network. They found that their model generated a network that reduced travel time and was less susceptible to disruption compared to the existing Toronto subway network.
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The slime mold created a network of nutrient-channeling tubes that resembled the Tokyo subway system
In 2010, researchers from Japan and the UK placed oat flakes (a delicacy for slime moulds) in a pattern that mimicked the way cities are scattered around Tokyo. They then introduced the yellow slime mould Physarum polycephalum, which grows as a single cell visible to the naked eye. The slime mould initially dispersed evenly around the oat flakes, exploring the territory. However, within hours, it began to strengthen the tunnels between certain flakes while other links gradually disappeared. After about a day, the slime mould had constructed a network of interconnected nutrient-ferrying tubes that looked almost identical to Tokyo's rail system.
This experiment revealed that slime moulds can create efficient networks to distribute nutrients. When presented with food sources separated in space, the slime mould cell surrounds the food and creates tunnels to transport nutrients. This behaviour can be modelled to inform the design of more efficient and adaptable networks for transportation, freight, and energy.
The slime mould's ability to optimise its tubular network for nutrient transport has sparked the emergence of biologically inspired adaptive network design. Researchers have since conducted similar studies with regional rail and road transportation networks, using computer models that simulate the way slime moulds construct their networks.
By understanding the ancient slime mould's adaptive network formation system, engineers can capture the essence and summarise it into engineering and biological models. This knowledge can inspire new algorithms to guide network construction in various domains, potentially improving the resilience of networks designed to move people and goods around a city.
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The experiment sparked the emergence of biologically inspired adaptive network design
The Tokyo subway system is the product of countless hours of engineering work, designed to be one of the world's most efficient rail networks. However, a team of researchers from Japan and the UK discovered that the subway system bore a striking resemblance to the tubular network formed by the slime mold Physarum polycephalum. This single-celled organism grows in a greenish-yellow vein-like pattern, creating tunnels to distribute nutrients efficiently.
In an experiment, researchers led by Toshiyuki Nakagaki of Hokkaido University in Sapporo, Japan, placed oat flakes in a pattern mimicking the cities surrounding Tokyo. They then introduced the slime mold, which dispersed and explored its new environment. Over time, the mold refined its pattern, strengthening the tunnels between oat flakes while other links faded away. Within a day, the mold had formed a network of tubes strikingly similar to Tokyo's rail system.
The experiment revealed the remarkable efficiency, reliability, and cost-effectiveness of the slime mold's self-organized network. This discovery sparked the emergence of biologically inspired adaptive network design, suggesting that the essence of ancient adaptive network formation systems could inspire new algorithms for optimizing various networks.
Researchers have since conducted similar studies with virtual slime molds, applying their insights to regional transportation networks. For example, a computer model based on slime mold behaviour predicted a network with the same travel time as Toronto's subway but with 40% less susceptibility to disruption. These findings highlight the potential for biologically inspired designs to enhance the resilience and efficiency of transportation networks.
The Tokyo subway slime mold experiment showcases the innovative potential of drawing inspiration from nature. By emulating the adaptive network formation strategies of slime molds, engineers and urban planners can optimize the design of transportation networks, making them more efficient, resilient, and adaptable to disruptions. This biologically inspired approach opens up new possibilities for creating robust and dynamic infrastructure that mimics the elegance and efficiency of natural systems.
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The slime mold's efficient organic structure could provide a model for optimizing transportation networks
Slime mold, a single-celled organism that has been evolving on our planet for at least 600 million years, has an efficient organic structure that can provide a model for optimizing transportation networks. In 2010, a team of researchers from Japan and the UK placed oat flakes (a slime mold delicacy) in a pattern that mimicked the way cities are scattered around Tokyo. They then introduced the slime mold, which dispersed and began to explore its new territory. Within hours, the slime mold began to strengthen the tunnels between certain oat flakes while other links gradually disappeared. After about a day, the slime mold had constructed a network of interconnected nutrient-ferrying tubes that looked almost identical to Tokyo's rail system.
This experiment revealed that the slime mold's natural behavior could inform the design of more efficient and adaptable human networks. Slime mold grows in a way that optimizes the transfer of nutrients throughout its organism. It first ""forages" broadly over an area, then refines its tubular network to optimize the transport of nutrients. This process is similar to the way that cities develop transportation networks to move people and goods around efficiently.
By capturing the essence of this ancient adaptive network formation system and summarizing it into engineering and biological models, new algorithms can be developed to guide network construction in many domains. For example, a team of University of Toronto researchers created a computer model of the slime mold Physarum polycephalum to simulate the way it constructs its network. They compared the model's results to those of a real slime mold and found that their network was less susceptible to disruption while providing the same travel time as the real-life network.
The potential applications of this discovery extend beyond transportation networks to also include freight networks and energy networks. By understanding the slime mold's efficient organic structure and utilizing it as a model, we can optimize networks in a similar way as the slime mold, bringing together expertise and insights from various disciplines.
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Frequently asked questions
Researchers found that the yellow slime mold, Physarum polycephalum, when presented with food sources in a pattern that mimicked the way cities are scattered around Tokyo, formed a network that was almost identical to the Tokyo subway system.
Led by Toshiyuki Nakagaki of Hokkaido University in Japan, researchers placed oat flakes (a slime mold delicacy) in a pattern that imitated the cities surrounding Tokyo and allowed the slime mold to grow towards the food sources.
The slime mold initially dispersed evenly, exploring its new territory. It then began to strengthen the tunnels between food sources while other links gradually disappeared. After about a day, it had formed a network of interconnected tubes that resembled the Tokyo subway system.
The experiment revealed that slime molds can create highly efficient and reliable networks for transferring nutrients. By understanding the principles behind slime mold networks, engineers can design more efficient transportation networks that are less prone to disruption.
Yes, researchers from the University of Toronto created a computer model of the slime mold Physarum polycephalum to optimize the Toronto subway network. The model showed that the travel time could remain the same while reducing the network's susceptibility to disruption by 40%.
