EPISODE · Dec 28, 2025 · 48 MIN
Holiday Listening: Slime moulds—the brainless blobs that can move and solve mazes
from Conversations · host Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Dr Tanya Latty is an insect scientist with a quirky taste in pets, and a keen eye for detail, but it's the lessons from her brainless pet slime mould that she's most fascinated about.Tanya studies the behaviour of ants and bees and she's particularly interested in their ability to work effectively as a team to achieve a common goal.But her pet project is focused on a creature that defies classification.Slime moulds are neither plants nor animals. They can move, but they don't have legs or wings.They appear to make complex decisions, often motivated by the promise of food. Yet they don't have a stomach or a brain.Despite slime moulds' unique biology, Tanya was struck by their apparent intelligence and by similarities in their patterns of behaviour to ants and bees.Tanya believes the knowledge gained from studying the behaviour of slime moulds and insects could help to solve complex organisational problems in the human world.For more information on Dr Latty’s research head to the Invertebrate behaviour and ecology lab website.This episode of Conversations was produced by Sinead Lee, the Executive Producer was Carmel Rooney.It explores strange science, weird science, hives, bees, insect behaviour, single cell organisms, biology, science for kids, podcasts for kids, the blob, flubber.To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.
What this episode covers
Dr Tanya Latty is an insect scientist with a quirky taste in pets, and a keen eye for detail, but it's the lessons from her brainless pet slime mould that she's most fascinated about. Tanya studies the behaviour of ants and bees and she's particularly interested in their ability to work effectively as a team to achieve a common goal. But her pet project is focused on a creature that defies classification. Slime moulds are neither plants nor animals. They can move, but they don't have legs or wings. They appear to make complex decisions, often motivated by the promise of food. Yet they don't have a stomach or a brain. Despite slime moulds' unique biology, Tanya was struck by their apparent intelligence and by similarities in their patterns of behaviour to ants and bees. Tanya believes the knowledge gained from studying the behaviour of slime moulds and insects could help to solve complex organisational problems in the human world. For more information on Dr Latty’s research head to the Invertebrate behaviour and ecology lab website. This episode of Conversations was produced by Sinead Lee, the Executive Producer was Carmel Rooney. It explores strange science, weird science, hives, bees, insect behaviour, single cell organisms, biology, science for kids, podcasts for kids, the blob, flubber. To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.
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Holiday Listening: Slime moulds—the brainless blobs that can move and solve mazes
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