Physarum Polycephalum

The most well known of the slime molds, Physarum Polycephalum is a type of giant cell called a plasmodial slime mold. It is one of the easiest single celled organisms to culture, as they are very resistant to harsh conditions.

This creature is very fast for a cell, as it is able to move at up to one centimeter an hour at it's fastest speed.

Life Cycle
During the main phase of its life cycle, the P. Polycephalum forms a multi nucleate state called a plasmodium. A plasmodium is the most easily noticeable stage of life as it can grow up to three cubic meters! Due to the fact that they have many nuclei, a plasmodium can be cut into many pieces, and still function normally.

After the plasmodium runs out of food, it will enter one of two stages. The first is called a sclerotium. A sclerotium is a dormant slime mold. It looks like a thick orange crust. A slime mold can survive many years without food or water in this state.

If the plasmodium is exposed to very bright light, it will form an organ called a sporangia. The slime mold grows into stalks which then grow mono nucleated spores on the tops. The wind blows the spores far and wide. Then they grow together to form new slime molds.

Intelligence
Most people wouldn't associate a single celled organism with intelligence, but P. Polycephalum is, to a certain degree, intelligent.

One of it's most known acts of intelligence is navigating the shortest path through a maze. Because living organisms depend on their food, the P. Polycephalum find the shortest path through the maze to the pieces of food so that it is less likely for it to be severed in between the two different pieces of food.

The P. Polycephalum has been used to design efficient rail systems for cities because of it's simple ability to determine the shortest routes between food sources comes in handy when they put pieces of food in the pattern of cities. FAIL