Dépôt du myxomycète, "Physarum polycephalum", dans une étuve

Placing the social amoeba Physarum polycephalum, commonly referred to as the "blob", in an incubator. Kept in Petri dishes, this primitive, unicellular organism is fed and watered to begin with. The blob can double in size each day, and moves by extending its pseudopodia while contracting its membrane and venous system. In the laboratory, research scientists keep it in an incubator as it does not tolerate much light and needs to be kept damp. This also lets them observe its development via an imaging system. Its numerous characteristics include the capacity, despite the fact that it does not have a brain, to learn from its experiences and pass on the information learned to other individuals by fusing with them. Lastly, it has a venous system that forms according to the same physical laws that govern the vascularisation of cancerous tumours, which means it could be used as a model.