Heather Barnett creates art with slime mold — a material used in diverse areas of scientific research, including biological computing, robotics and structural design.

Why you should listen

Heather Barnett creates fascinating biodesigns with the semi-intelligent slime mold. While it has no brain nor central nervous system, the single celled organism, Physarum polycephalum, shows a primitive form of memory, problem-solving skills and the apparent ability to make decisions. It is used as a model organism in diverse areas of scientific research, including biological computing, robotics and structural design. “It is also quite beautiful,” says Barnett, “and makes therefore for a great creative collaborator. Although ultimately I cannot control the final outcome, it is a rather independent organism.“

Heather Barnett’s TED talk

More news and ideas from Heather Barnett

News

7 fascinating things I learned at the TEDSalon Berlin

June 24, 2014

Yesterday, nearly every seat of the theatre at the Admiralspalast was filled for the TEDBerlin Salon, the first official TED event in Germany (and, with TEDGlobal’s move to Rio in October, the only one taking place in Europe this year). In two sessions hosted by Bruno Giussani, 15 speakers and performers covered an eclectic array of topics, whizzing from tech-driven social […]

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