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Slime!
Apr 9, 2011 18:12:56 GMT -6
Post by swamprat on Apr 9, 2011 18:12:56 GMT -6
Slime inches its way along along a fallen tree limb"Slime" is actually neither a plant nor an animal, and is the least studied of the five kingdoms of living things - plants, animals, bacteria, fungi, and slime. Scientists know it is not a fungus, and that it eats bacteria and other forms of slime. It seems to be from an alien world, and, indeed, inspired the old horror thriller "The Blob" which came out in 1958 starring Steve McQueen. This Gadsden County slime is some of the likeliest slime we have ever seen. Coming in hot pinks, oranges and yellows, slime oozes its way across vegetation. It was dripping its way down to the ground. Slime molds are called "myxomycetes" in the Kingdom Protoctista. Slime shows intelligence, and chopped up, seeks its other parts and then goes looking for food. These are slime molds, or myxomycetes (myxos), of the kingdom Protoctista, the least understood of the five kingdoms of life, the others being animals, plants, fungi and bacteria (Smithsonian, July 1991). Slime molds are like nothing else on earth. In their plasmodium stage, they show a quality that could be called intelligence: chopped up and dropped into a labyrinth, they will put themselves back together and start to move, avoiding dead ends and heading unerringly for the prize—more food. Not surprisingly, they fascinate some biologists and amateur naturalists. For more on this, please go to: www.smithsonianmag.com/issues/2001/march/phenom_mar01.phpCourtesy of: www.flwildflowers.com/gallery/
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Slime!
Apr 9, 2011 18:43:02 GMT -6
Post by skywalker on Apr 9, 2011 18:43:02 GMT -6
You have got to be kidding me! Is this real? I've never heard of slime before. This isn't another April Fool's joke is it?
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Slime!
Apr 9, 2011 18:56:40 GMT -6
Post by skywalker on Apr 9, 2011 18:56:40 GMT -6
Well, I'll be gosh-darned...apparently it is not an April Fool's hoax...slime really does exist. And it really does move and do all of that other weird stuff that swampy said. Imagine that. I found this short article about it... herbarium.usu.edu/fungi/FunFacts/SlimeMold.htm"Cellular slime molds, the second major group of slime molds, exist as minute "slugs" during their growth phase. Each slug contains a single nucleus. The slugs crawl through dung, soil, rotting mushrooms, decaying leaves and other organic material at an average speed of 1 mm per hour. When conditions are right, all the slugs in an area join together to create a pseudoplasmodium, a "fake plasmodium".
Scientists once thought that the signal that caused the slugs to aggregate was issued by a few "leader" slugs. Recent research has shown that there are no leaders. Each slug pumps out a chemical that leaves an invisible trail. When other slugs cross the path of this trail they follow it, strenthening the chemical trail by adding to it. Even more slugs are attracted by the stronger concentration of the chemical. Eventually all of the slugs in an area gather themselves into a pseudoplasmodium. Then, as part of preparing to reproduce, they stop eating.
The plasmodium is "fake" because each slug in it remains an individual even though they become glued together into a larger mass. As a single mass, they act together to produce a single stalked spore-producing structure. About a third of the slugs in in the pseudoplasmodium become the stalk. The other slugs are transformed into spores. The spore walls are smooth and contain cellulose, which is found in the cell walls of plants, but not fungi."It sounds disgusting.
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Slime!
Apr 9, 2011 18:58:31 GMT -6
Post by auntym on Apr 9, 2011 18:58:31 GMT -6
remember the original 50's movie.... THE BLOB ? UPDATE.... that is a young STEVE MCQUEEN in the male lead
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Slime!
Apr 9, 2011 19:01:22 GMT -6
Post by skywalker on Apr 9, 2011 19:01:22 GMT -6
I have never seen The Blob ever in my life ever. I've heard a lot about it but never seen it. Is it worth watching or should I just go out and look at some slime?
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Slime!
Apr 9, 2011 19:05:46 GMT -6
Post by auntym on Apr 9, 2011 19:05:46 GMT -6
I have never seen The Blob ever in my life ever. I've heard a lot about it but never seen it. Is it worth watching or should I just go out and look at some slime? the 50's version is a classic..... at that time it scared the crap out of everybody....today it wouldn't, but back then it was pretty scary stuff... definitely rent it....
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Deleted
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Slime!
Apr 9, 2011 20:07:44 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2011 20:07:44 GMT -6
It's worth a rent as a classic Sky..it really scared people. Maybe they know slime is real? cool post Swampy
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Deleted
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Slime!
Apr 10, 2011 4:04:44 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2011 4:04:44 GMT -6
It's worth a rent as a classic Sky..it really scared people. Maybe they know slime is real? cool post Swampy I agree swampy. Very cool... and weird too.
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