Computational ability of cells based on cell dynamics and adaptability

Learning how biological systems solve problems could help to design new methods of computation. Information processing in simple cellular organisms is interesting, as they have survived for almost 1 billion years using a simple system of information processing. Here we discuss a well-studied model system: the large amoeboid Physarum plasmodium. This amoeba can find approximate solutions for combinatorial optimization problems, such as solving a maze or a shortest network problem. In this report, we describe problem solving by the amoeba, and the computational methods that can be extracted from biological behaviors. The algorithm designed based on Physarum is both simple and useful.