Heather is currently attempting to collaborate
with slime mold (Physarumpolycephalum)
because of its superb intelligence,
problem solving skills and good memory - not
bad for a little yellow slithery thing.
The collaboration is still in early days, but
results so far show some interesting behaviours
in response to trials and trails set in various
food stuffs - oats are a favourite.
The first 6 time lapse films show various attempts
to entice the slime mold to follow trails set in
oats and oat paste. It doesn't always behave predictably.
(link
to Heather's
You Tube channel)
You can also see the results of 'Drawing
on Life',
a Big Draw event hosted by Wellcome Collection
and UCL in September 2008, which invited Heather,
and microbiologist and slime mold fan, Simon Park,
to share their experimental pets with the public.
People were invited to make their own drawings
from oat paste and unleash a slime mold, in order
to eat their creation. These were photographed
intermittently over a period of a week to create
short stop frame animations.
Want to find out more?
Download an info
sheet (pdf) on the clever slime mold.
