This Brainless Organism is Mapping Dark Matter
The food-seeking behavior of slime mold is helping astronomers map dark matter…here’s how.
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Scientists are trying to map the shape of the largest thing in the universe, and as you might expect, it’s proved challenging.
So in an attempt to speed up the process researchers are turning to slime mold.
Now you might be asking, "what even is the cosmic web?”
The cosmic web is a large, mysterious network of interconnected filaments made up of dark matter and gas—these filaments connect galaxies, operating as the scaffolding of the universe. And as we’ve mentioned, the cosmic web is incredibly hard to map.
So a team at the University of California Santa Cruz sifted through enormous amounts of archived data and then used an algorithm inspired by the slime mold Physarum polycephalum.
Find out more about how these researchers are using slime mold to map dark matter and what this could mean for our future understanding of the cosmic web and the intricacies of the entire universe.
#darkmatter #slime #cosmicmap #astronomy #science #space #seeker #elements
What Has No Brain, 720 Sexes, And the Ability to Self-Heal?!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZhc8R58R7k
Read More:
Slime Mold Simulations Used to Map Dark Matter Holding Universe Together
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2020/slime-mold-simulations-used-to-map-dark-matter-holding-universe-together/
"The behavior of one of nature's humblest creatures is helping astronomers probe the largest structures in the universe."
Modeling the Universe with Slime Mold
https://medium.com/the-cosmic-companion/modeling-the-universe-with-slime-mold-63f69c7f6a28
Wherever the slime mold model predicted a ribbon would form, researchers found gas. These deposits were more concentrated near their centers, as predicted by models. Where gas was most concentrated, the signal dropped out. This was also expected, as gas in those regions is heated until electrons within the atoms are driven off, eliminating the absorption spectra.
Lowly slime molds are helping us map out the cosmos
https://www.popsci.com/story/space/slime-mold-predicts-shape-of-universe/
Slime molds don’t think, but they can calculate. The single-celled organisms fend for themselves during times of plenty, but when the going gets tough they band together into a collective creature displaying exploration, learning, and memory in its hunt for food—not bad for creatures without brains or nervous systems. One variety in particular, Physarum polycephalum, has become a darling of researchers in many fields, who’ve harnessed its pioneering nature to analyze everything from ancient roads to modern shoppers. Now, astronomers have designed a digital version of the organism to study the cosmos itself.
____________________
Elements is more than just a science show. It’s your science-loving best friend, tasked with keeping you updated and interested on all the compelling, innovative and groundbreaking science happening all around us. Join our passionate hosts as they help break down and present fascinating science, from quarks to quantum theory and beyond.
Seeker empowers the curious to understand the science shaping our world. We tell award-winning stories about the natural forces and groundbreaking innovations that impact our lives, our planet, and our universe.
Visit the Seeker website https://www.seeker.com/videos
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The food-seeking behavior of slime mold is helping astronomers map dark matter…here’s how.
» Subscribe to Seeker! http://bit.ly/subscribeseeker
» Watch more Elements! http://bit.ly/ElementsPlaylist
» Visit our shop at http://shop.seeker.com
Scientists are trying to map the shape of the largest thing in the universe, and as you might expect, it’s proved challenging.
So in an attempt to speed up the process researchers are turning to slime mold.
Now you might be asking, “what even is the cosmic web?”
The cosmic web is a large, mysterious network of interconnected filaments made up of dark matter and gas—these filaments connect galaxies, operating as the scaffolding of the universe. And as we’ve mentioned, the cosmic web is incredibly hard to map.
So a team at the University of California Santa Cruz sifted through enormous amounts of archived data and then used an algorithm inspired by the slime mold Physarum polycephalum.
Find out more about how these researchers are using slime mold to map dark matter and what this could mean for our future understanding of the cosmic web and the intricacies of the entire universe.
#darkmatter #slime #cosmicmap #astronomy #science #space #seeker #elements
What Has No Brain, 720 Sexes, And the Ability to Self-Heal?!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZhc8R58R7k
Read More:
Slime Mold Simulations Used to Map Dark Matter Holding Universe Together
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2020/slime-mold-simulations-used-to-map-dark-matter-holding-universe-together/
“The behavior of one of nature’s humblest creatures is helping astronomers probe the largest structures in the universe.”
Modeling the Universe with Slime Mold
https://medium.com/the-cosmic-companion/modeling-the-universe-with-slime-mold-63f69c7f6a28
Wherever the slime mold model predicted a ribbon would form, researchers found gas. These deposits were more concentrated near their centers, as predicted by models. Where gas was most concentrated, the signal dropped out. This was also expected, as gas in those regions is heated until electrons within the atoms are driven off, eliminating the absorption spectra.
Lowly slime molds are helping us map out the cosmos
https://www.popsci.com/story/space/slime-mold-predicts-shape-of-universe/
Slime molds don’t think, but they can calculate. The single-celled organisms fend for themselves during times of plenty, but when the going gets tough they band together into a collective creature displaying exploration, learning, and memory in its hunt for food—not bad for creatures without brains or nervous systems. One variety in particular, Physarum polycephalum, has become a darling of researchers in many fields, who’ve harnessed its pioneering nature to analyze everything from ancient roads to modern shoppers. Now, astronomers have designed a digital version of the organism to study the cosmos itself.
____________________
Elements is more than just a science show. It’s your science-loving best friend, tasked with keeping you updated and interested on all the compelling, innovative and groundbreaking science happening all around us. Join our passionate hosts as they help break down and present fascinating science, from quarks to quantum theory and beyond.
Seeker empowers the curious to understand the science shaping our world. We tell award-winning stories about the natural forces and groundbreaking innovations that impact our lives, our planet, and our universe.
Visit the Seeker website https://www.seeker.com/videos
Elements on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SeekerElements/
Subscribe now! http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=dnewschannel
Seeker on Twitter http://twitter.com/seeker
Seeker on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SeekerMedia/
Seeker http://www.seeker.com/
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Hi Seekers, thanks for watching! For more on slime mold, check out our video here: https://youtu.be/sZhc8R58R7k
Could this dark matter make you like the flash mixed hydrogen
thumbs up for the bastion in the back
Just finished watching Star trek discovery.
Brainless matter is mappings dark matter… omg it’s a spore drive predestination paradox!
2:45 I guess humans are basically just slime mold
Suppose there is a variant of accelerated expansion of the visible universe inward. This will make us understand the work; quantum gravity, dark energy, black hole physics … As a physical model, we need to use spherical quantum "rosebuds" consisting of different quantum membranes with their work center. http://g55ton.narod.ru
How much time did you spend setting up your background? It's wery organized and impressive, you must be very focused on details, why don't you work in nasa?
When you have found the solution to a complex problem you immediately know that it was not hard at all.
This is VERY interesting how slime mold connects the same way as humans and the cosmic web!
Aren't slime molds just the new mantis shrimp?
Hahaha….how can you map something that doesn't exist? Funding scam!!!
Shoutout as a Bastion main with over 300 hours.
Are they talkin bout Trump?
The Chiron is the background never fails to catch my attention !
Humans = Slime mold
What gas signature is created by dark matter? I thought the only detectable sign of dark matter was it's gravitational pull?