Cell fusion through slime mold network dynamics

TL;DR

This paper extends a cellular automaton model of Physarum Polycephalum to multiple cells, exploring their interactions, mobility, and information sharing, with implications for understanding biological communication and societal evolution.

Contribution

The paper introduces a multi-cell extension of the CELL model to study interactions, merging, and communication in Physarum, advancing the modeling of its network dynamics.

Findings

Multiple CELLs exhibit complex interactions and merging behaviors.

Modeling reveals insights into Physarum's communication and network formation.

Applications suggest parallels between slime mold behavior and societal information spread.

Abstract

Physarum Polycephalum is a unicellular slime mold that has been intensely studied due to its ability to solve mazes, find shortest paths, generate Steiner trees, share knowledge, remember past events, and its applications to unconventional computing. The CELL model is a unicellular automaton introduced in the recent work of Gunji et al. in 2008, that models Physarum's amoeboid motion, tentacle formation, maze solving, and network creation. In the present paper, we extend the CELL model by spawning multiple CELLs, allowing us to understand the interactions between multiple cells, and in particular, their mobility, merge speed, and cytoplasm mixing. We conclude the paper with some notes about applications of our work to modeling the rise of present day civilization from the early nomadic humans and the spread of trends and information around the world. Our study of the interactions of this unicellular organism should further the understanding of how Physarum Polycephalum communicates and shares information.