What is the blob, this strange organism soon to be studied in space?
Blobs, recognizable by their bright yellow color, also entered the Paris Zoological Park last September.
They are entrusted to the good care of gardeners.
© AFP - STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN
Text by: Lou Roméo Follow
5 mins
As part of the Alpha mission, which will begin on April 22, astronaut Thomas Pesquet will take with him aboard the International Space Station blobs, strange single-celled organisms, neither plants, animals, nor fungi ... But endowed with intelligence and learning abilities.
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Physarum Polycephalum
from its scientific name, the blob is a living species apart: a unicellular organism without a mouth or brain, it eats, moves one centimeter per hour and can communicate information to its fellows by merging with them.
Egg yolk, sticky and visible to the naked eye, "
the
blob has a primitive intelligence even though it has no nervous system
," indicates Audrey Dussutour, research director at the Center for Research on Animal Cognition at CNRS and specialist in blobs.
He can solve complex problems, get out of a labyrinth, learn and pass his knowledge on to his fellows.
"
►
Also to
listen:
The blob, unicellular organism and new star of the Paris zoo
An experiment attests it: placed in front of a salt barrier, a food which is not dangerous for him, but which he hates, the blob will gradually learn to overcome his aversion and to ignore it.
It will therefore be able to overtake the salt more quickly than a “naive” blob, which has not been used to it.
But if the experienced blob merges with the “naive” blob, the latter will also know how to overcome the obstacle, without ever having done it: they have communicated.
“
They share information
, observes Audrey Dussutour.
If a blob is poisoned, its fellows will flee in the opposite direction, as if they had been warned
.
"
Biologically immortal
Passionate about these organisms with 720 different sexual types that she raises in her laboratory using oatmeal, it is she who nicknamed them "blobs", in tribute to the eponymous alien from a science film- American fiction.
It is also the blob's unusual resistance capacities that fascinate.
"
B
iologiquement speaking
, says Audrey Dussutour,
a blob is immortal.
Raised in good conditions, it seems to be able to regenerate itself eternally.
"By alternating phases of waking and" dormancy ", during which it dries up and falls asleep, the blob indeed manages to regenerate its unique cell, made up of billions of nuclei.
It is simply necessary that it benefits from good living conditions, namely a humid and dark environment, full of food.
Audrey Dussutour's Toulouse laboratory thus has a 70-year-old American blob in great shape.
It can also heal in two minutes and grow exponentially, doubling in size every day.
The largest ever observed was 10 m2.
Blobs in space and in classrooms
Some of these fascinating creatures will be sent to space next July, as part of the Alpha mission.
These blobs then are "
very small
," says Audrey Dussutour: they measure currently "
less than a quarter of centimètr
e
square
".
For a week, their behavior will be observed by astronaut Thomas Pesquet and photographed several times a day.
“
How will the blobs react in space, in a situation of weightlessness
?
Asks Rémi Canton, project manager of the Alpha mission at the National Center for Space Studies (Cnes)
.
We will see how they move, how they eat ... Maybe their behavior will change, instead of growing
"flat"
, they will gain in volume, develop in 3D
?
"
► To read also: Space: astronaut Thomas Pesquet soon to be in command of the International Space Station
The experiment will make it possible to compare the behavior of the blobs, placed in different situations: two of them will be installed in boxes filled with food, while the other two will be deprived of them.
“
We will be able to look at their travel strategies and compare them with those they have on Earth,
” enthuses Rémi Canton.
The aim of the experiment is educational: the Cnes and the CNRS are offering 2,000 blob breeding kits to primary, middle and high school classes, so that the students can carry out the experiment in parallel and compare their results. with those obtained by astronaut Thomas Pesquet from the International Space Station.
“
The idea of the experiment is to get young people interested in science and scientific careers
,” explains Rémi Canton.
Blobs are easy to breed, and if we manage to spark vocations, it's won
!
»Classes can apply until May 21, by completing
the Blob-Terre form.
🚀A discussion thread to introduce you to the # elèvetonblob adventure!
Episode 1: Preparing the #blobs for their big trip to the ISS and schools.
A project led by @CNES in partnership with @CNRS @COMATSPACE and @actoulouse #missionalpha #elevetonblob
1/11 pic.twitter.com/1QtOoFtTp0
- Audrey Dussutour (@Docteur_Drey) March 20, 2021
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