Computing an organism

摘要

The "social amoebae" of species Dic- tyostelium discoideum roam individ- ually through the soil as long as their bacterial food is present. The social phase for these cellular slime molds be- gins when the food supply is exhausted. After some hours, the assemblage of amoebae aggregate into several large groups, each of which forms a worm-like slug that propels itself toward heat and light. This brings the slug to the surface of the soil, where it executes a sophisti- cated internal ballet that eventually re- sults in a fruiting body, an elegant stalk, formed by dead cellulose-walled cells, atop of which perches a bag of spores.