Slime molds make the news sometimes. Slime mold gives insight into the intelligence of neuron-less organisms. When a slime mold mass or mound is physically separated, the cells find their way back to re-unite. The Uncanny Intelligence of Slime Mold This Creature Eats, Learns and Heals Itself — All Without a Brain Brainless Slime Has a Doozy of a Superpower Animals Are Smarter Than Most People Think by New Jersey Institute of Technology It’s usually because a scientist figured out that a slime mold could solve a maze in a seemingly intentional way, or that it can grow through a space … As simple (sometimes single-celled) organisms, they have to coordinate and cooperate in a swarm in order to … But slime mold also has exceptional intelligence. Single-celled amoebae can remember, make decisions and anticipate change, urging scientists to rethink intelligent … A slime made up of independent, single cells, they found, can "learn" to avoid irritants despite having no central nervous system. Studies on Physarum polycephalum have even shown an ability to learn and predict periodic unfavorable conditions in laboratory experiments. With the aid of human research assistants, the slime mold is using the problem-solving skills it acquired over a billion years of evolution to tackle policy problems. In an interview with Princeton University , the late John Tyler Bonner, a professor emeritus of biology and a top slime mold expert, described them as “no more than a bag of amoeba encased in a thin slime sheath, yet they manage to have various behaviours that are equal to those of animals who possess muscles and nerves with ganglia – that is, simple brains.” How brainless slime molds redefine intelligence. "Tantalizing results suggest that … John Tyler Bonner, a professor of ecology known for his studies of slime molds, argues that they are "no more than a bag of amoebae encased in a thin slime sheath, yet they manage to have various behaviors that are equal to those of animals who possess muscles and n… Slime molds are weird creatures.