---
title: "Paris Zoo Unveils Bizarre “Blob” That Can Learn With No Brain"
description: "This bizarre organism can learn without a brain, digest food without a mouth or stomach, and rapidly heal itself after being chopped in half."
date: "2019-10-17"
modified: "2019-10-17"
authors:
  - name: "Jon Christian"
    job_title: "Executive Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/paris-zoo-blob-no-brain"
categories:
  - "Brain"
  - "Health & Medicine"
tags:
  - "blob"
  - "slime mold"
  - "the digest"
  - "zoology"
---

# Paris Zoo Unveils Bizarre “Blob” That Can Learn With No Brain

![This bizarre organism can learn without a brain, digest food without a mouth or stomach, and rapidly heal itself after being chopped in half.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/paris-zoo-blob-no-brain.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Parc zoologique de Paris via YouTube\</em\>*

## Blob Loblaw

The Paris Zoological Park is unveiling a bizarre "blob" organism this weekend that can learn without a brain, digest food without a mouth or stomach, and rapidly heal itself after being chopped in half.

"The blob is a living being which belongs to one of nature's mysteries," Bruno David, the director of the Paris Museum of Natural History, [told *Reuters*](<https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-zoo-blob/paris-zoo-unveils-the-blob-an-organism-with-no-brain-but-720-sexes-idUSKBN1WV2AD>). "It surprises us because it has no brain but is able to learn... and if you merge two blobs, the one that has learned will transmit its knowledge to the other."

## Slime Buddy

The slime mold, formally known as Physarum polycephalum but widely called the "blob," is believed to be extraordinarily ancient — perhaps as old as a billion years, [according to *CNN*](<https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/17/europe/france-new-organism-zoo-intl-scli-scn-hnk/index.html>) — and unicellular. It can move on its own and [solve tricky problems](<https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/brainless-slime-molds/>). And its classification in the tree of life is up for debate, according to experts.

"We know for sure it is not a plant but we don’t really \[know\] if it’s an animal or a fungus," David told *Reuters*. "It behaves very surprisingly for something that looks like a mushroom... it has the behavior of an animal, it is able to learn."

**READ MORE:** [Paris zoo unveils the "blob", an organism with no brain but 720 sexes](<https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-zoo-blob/paris-zoo-unveils-the-blob-an-organism-with-no-brain-but-720-sexes-idUSKBN1WV2AD>) \[*Reuters*\]

**More on weird organisms:** [*Meet The Axolotl: The Mexican Walking Fish*](<https://futurism.com/meet-axolotl-mexican-walking-fish>)

## Author
I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/jonchristian.net>)