@fascinatedbyfungi: Celebrating the last #slimemoldsunday of 2023 with this timelapse of #plasmodium pulsing. Acellular slime molds or #myxomycetes are not fungi, but instead single celled organisms more closely related to other ameoboid protist-like organisms. They actively engulf their food (phagocytosis) and do not contain chitin, but they do reproduce by spore. Plasmodium is one giant multinucleated cell that displays network intelligence, or the ability to navigate 3D space and respond to environmental cues (like light, temperature, nutrients, etc..). Plasmodium also undergoes bidirectional pulsing every 60-90s as cytosolic components are shuttled across the giant cell as part of the growth process. In total these clips represent roughly 70 minutes of real-time elapsed. I hope everyone has a safe night and a phenomenal start to the new year, HAPPY 2024! . . . . #myxomycota #myxomycete #plasmodia #plasmodium #slimemolds #happynewyear #networkintelligence