Scientists Grew Slime Mold That Recreated Tokyo Rail Routes
In 2010, scientists grew slime mold around oat flakes laid out like cities near Tokyo, and it formed a network strikingly similar to the Tokyo rail system.
Details
In 2010, researchers used the slime mold Physarum polycephalum to explore how living systems can build efficient transportation networks. They placed oat flakes in a dish at positions representing Tokyo and nearby population centers, then introduced the mold. Because the organism naturally grows toward food and strengthens useful connections while reducing less useful ones, its spreading tubes gradually formed a network between the food sources. The resulting pattern had striking similarities to the existing rail network around Tokyo. Researchers were interested not because the mold understood maps or planned a railway, but because its simple growth behavior produced a useful example of decentralized network formation. The study showed that biological processes could inspire mathematical models and new ways of thinking about infrastructure design. It did not mean that a slime mold literally understood Tokyo, replaced engineers, or automatically solved every transportation problem.
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