In praise of slime

I know you’ve never thought for a second about slime mold, but it’s interesting stuff. Take this link for a few quick facts. If you get hooked, there are several links to follow:

Despite its lack of a nervous system, Physarum can still solve problems such as mazes, finding the shortest path between two exits baited with food. At first, it extends its tendril network throughout the entire labyrinth before trimming away the dead-end branches, leaving behind a single thick tube that covers the most direct path.