When you think about fungi you probably think about the pizza topping. However, mushrooms aren’t the only form of fungi in existence. Scientists even found out that these brainless organisms are capable of having a memory and can make decisions! Keep on reading and discover how scientist found proof that this is actually the case!
Fungi Are Smarter Than You’d Think
In a recent study, scientists decided to see if fungi have “basal cognition decision-making”. To do this they put P. Velutina spores into a box with decaying wood blocks. These wood blocks were set up in circular or cross patterns inside of a box. Then they were left alone for around 116 days to see what would happen.
If the fungi would grow randomly between these little blocks of wood, it would prove that they can’t make decisions. However, the results were quite the opposite. After the experiments, the P Velutina fungi showed efficient connections to each of the little blocks! This proves that even though the organism doesn’t have a brain, it is able to make decisions, learn and remember things!
Can Brainless Organisms Be Used In Different Scenarios?
In the past decade, more research has been done to implement these single-cell organisms in research. They’re doing this to find more efficient ways to complete tasks. One of the biggest and most popular examples is when a slime mould was used to redesign the Tokyo metro system.
The Tokyo metro system is one of the most efficient metro systems in the world. It was designed over 10 years with multiple civil engineers and urban planning professionals to be optimized. However, in 2010 a university in Japan used slime mould and oats to recreate the metro system. The oats were placed on a table and represented the stations. The slime mould was then released on the table, and with the same decision-making capabilities, was able to find the same connection system as the Tokyo Railways. Some researchers even say the connections the slime mould made were slightly better optimised than the actual metro lines. Check out how they were able to do it in the video below!
