The Blob: From Hollywood Terror to Scientific Wonder

For many, the term 'blob' evokes images of a giant, slimy alien spreading terror in a small American town, as portrayed in a 1950s horror movie. But is it really just science fiction? Physarum polycephalum, affectionately nicknamed 'The Blob' by Audrey Dussutour, is a remarkable single-celled organism that has captivated researchers from various scientific disciplines with its unique biological traits. Remarkably, it doubles or even triples in size daily and can expand to several square meters.  If cut in two, it forms two autonomous and functional individuals that can later merge back into a single organism through fusion. Moreover, it rejuvenates after a period of dormancy and can thus live for several decades. Despite its simplicity, this unicellular organism exhibits complex behaviors typically associated with more advanced life forms. It can navigates complex mazes, anticipates events, communicates with its congeners, and has the ability to learn and memorize. Join us to explore the latest adventures of this extraordinary organism: its space odyssey aboard the International Space Station, its escapades in thousands of homes across France and Belgium, and its groundbreaking achievements in laboratories. One thing is certain, the blob is far from done surprising you!

5 questions

What exactly is a blob?
What unique abilities does the blob possess?
How does the Blob solve complex problems?
What can the Blob teach us about biological processes and intelligence in simple organisms?
What are the potential scientific and practical applications of studying the blob?

Aurèle Boussard

PhD (Unicellular behavior) in 2021 (Paul Sabatier University, Toulouse).
2023 - 2025 Post-doctorate (optimal group decision-making)
2025 - Post-doctorate (the fractal geometry of slime molds)

Aurèle Boussard research focuses on the behaviors of distributed living systems such as slime molds and animal groups. During his PhD, he studied the persistence of a very simple form of learning in slime moulds and supplemented this experimental ethology side with image analysis to quantify the behaviors of this unicellular. Slime molds contain an internal circulatory system allowing a plethora of small decision centers to communicate and elaborate collective responses. His research currently asks how such a collective response emerges. On the one hand, he is using a theoretical model from probability theory to study the collective accuracy of many interacting agents. On the other hand, he is using fractal geometry to bring a novel understanding on the causal links between the geometry of the circulatory system of slime molds, the patterns it generates locally, and the resulting behavior.

Bérenger 2000

Après avoir fait de la musique expérimentale digne des années 3000 pendant plus de 10 ans, Bérenger 2000 se téléporte dans les années 80's.  Fort d'une déconstruction massive, sa musique décomplexée fait la part belle à la musique électronique en la dynamitant de new wave, d’électro punk et de slows décadents. Accompagnée d’une groovebox survitaminée et d’un micro digne d’un vendeur de centre commercial, ses textes grinçants illustrent avec ironie ce que certains appellent le monde de demain. 

En 2023, après 2 ans de concerts, des jingles radio, une pièce de théâtre loufoque et la bande originale du court métrage “How to kill properly dead animals” de Micha Muhl, il sortira enfin son deuxième album…L'occasion de retrouver des titres qui ont déjà fait leurs preuves en live, tels que Clope sur clope, Ras la casquette, Truc 2 ouf, ou encore Les accidents de voiture... Vroom vroom !