"Blob", the strange creature of the Paris Zoo able to think without brain and having 720 sexes

The Paris Zoo has just given asylum to a guest difficult to classify in the scientific world: it is the "Blob", which literally means an amorphous mass, an unusual intelligent cell, without brain but able to think.

"This is not an animal, nor a mushroom, as they say here, it's a multi-nucleus cell, which is extraordinary, it's that it manages to make things that many vertebrates with thousands of cells and neurons do not do, "says Luca Morino, Efe specialist. Animal behavior of the Parisian zoo and responsible for & # 39; Blob & # 39; "In addition, it is not a woman or a man, but has 720 sexes," explain the scientists.

Among his skills, solve complicated problems without having a brain. It has been observed that this unusual creature is able, for example, to find the exit of a huge labyrinth in the fastest and most optimal way.

"Blob" is surprising in every conceivable way. Its amorphous body, which forms a striking yellow mass, seems to extend from a distance like a net, grows at a speed of one centimeter per hour and can cover up to 30 square meters.

In the wild, this cell is found mainly in forests, especially in shady and humid places. If it's dry, it's able to revive when it comes back to find the right conditions. Scientists therefore tend to point out that it is virtually immortal.

The organism, which feeds on bacteria and microbes, belongs to the species Physarum polycephalum, but its current name is a tribute to the sci-fi film "The Blob", performed by Steve McQueen in 1958.

"A strange thing"

"It's a strange thing," says Bruno David, president of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris. This particular organism was first discovered thanks to the alliance between the museum and the Parisian zoo, where it will now be used as educational material. "We are an atypical zoo and it is perfect for the" Blob "because people want to know what it is.The communication on the capabilities of this cell, which we know very little, is very interesting "said Morino.

In addition, his presence in the Parisian zoo will be used to continue to study, taking advantage of its interaction in areas poorly analyzed, such as his life in nature, because it was so far mainly observed in the laboratory.

"It uses basic mechanisms, some of which we know, as basic rules for the transmission of information.But we also have no idea of ​​other things.We see extraordinary abilities, but we have to understand why this has been done and these are the questions we are doing now, "says the scientist.