人類的工程師能夠從低等的粘液菌那里學(xué)到什么呢？據(jù)1月22日的《科學(xué)》雜志報道說,，一則最近的實驗提示,，Physarum polycephalum（多頭絨泡菌）這種凝膠性真菌樣的霉菌可能真的能夠指引人們改進技術(shù)系統(tǒng)，如：更為堅固耐用的電腦及移動性通訊網(wǎng)絡(luò),。 這一啟示來自一個日本和英國的研究團隊所觀察到的粘液霉菌將其與散在的食物源的連接方式圖案幾乎與東京的鐵軌系統(tǒng)等同,。
hysarum polycephalum的網(wǎng)絡(luò)形成。
資料來源: 《科學(xué)》/美國科學(xué)促進會
Atsushi Tero及其同僚將燕麥片放置在一個潮濕的表面之上,，其放置的各個點相當(dāng)于東京周圍的各個城市,，并讓Physarum polycephalum這種霉菌從中心向外生長。 他們看著該粘液菌進行自我組織,、向外擴散并形成一種網(wǎng)絡(luò),，其在功效、可靠性以及成本上都堪比真實世界的東京鐵路網(wǎng)的基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施,。 研究人員能夠捕捉到這種以一種有效率的方式與其食物源相連的適應(yīng)性及生物學(xué)網(wǎng)絡(luò)所需要的核心機制,，并將其結(jié)合到一個數(shù)學(xué)模型之中。 由于該粘液霉菌已經(jīng)經(jīng)歷了無數(shù)回的進化選擇,，因此這種基于其攝食習(xí)性的規(guī)則可以提供人們在現(xiàn)實世界應(yīng)用中一種最有功效及適應(yīng)性網(wǎng)絡(luò)設(shè)計的途徑,。 Tero及其同僚說，他們的模型對改善諸如遙感器陣列,、隨建即連網(wǎng)路及無線網(wǎng)狀網(wǎng)絡(luò)等自我組織的網(wǎng)絡(luò)的功效及降低成本等方面提供了一個起始點,。 Wolfgang Marwan在一篇Perspective中對這些發(fā)現(xiàn)做了更為詳細的解釋。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原始出處：
Science 22 January 2010:DOI: 10.1126/science.1177894
Rules for Biologically Inspired Adaptive Network Design
Atsushi Tero,1,2 Seiji Takagi,1 Tetsu Saigusa,3 Kentaro Ito,1 Dan P. Bebber,4 Mark D. Fricker,4 Kenji Yumiki,5 Ryo Kobayashi,5,6 Toshiyuki Nakagaki1,6,*
Transport networks are ubiquitous in both social and biological systems. Robust network performance involves a complex trade-off involving cost, transport efficiency, and fault tolerance. Biological networks have been honed by many cycles of evolutionary selection pressure and are likely to yield reasonable solutions to such combinatorial optimization problems. Furthermore, they develop without centralized control and may represent a readily scalable solution for growing networks in general. We show that the slime mold Physarum polycephalum forms networks with comparable efficiency, fault tolerance, and cost to those of real-world infrastructure networks—in this case, the Tokyo rail system. The core mechanisms needed for adaptive network formation can be captured in a biologically inspired mathematical model that may be useful to guide network construction in other domains.
1 Research Institute for Electronic Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0812, Japan.
2 PRESTO, JST, 4-1-8 Honcho, Kawaguchi, Saitama, Japan.
3 Graduate School of Engineering, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-8628, Japan.
4 Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3RB, UK.
5 Department of Mathematical and Life Sciences, Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima 739-8526, Japan.
6 JST, CREST, 5 Sanbancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 102-0075, Japan.
