Strange creature 'blob' with no brain, 720 sexes unveiled in Paris Zoo

A Paris zoo showcased peculiar new organism on October 16 which is brainless and is named as “blob”. Blob is a unicellular organism that reportedly looks like a yellowish fungus but acts like an animal. The slime mould can also heal itself and has nearly 720 sexes. The Paris Zoological Park will be the first place where people can actually see this unique unicellular being. What is more uncanny about 'blob' is that even though this organism has no brain, scientists have discovered that it is still able to learn and healing takes only 120 seconds.

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What happens if you merge two blobs?

According to Bruno David, the director of the Paris Museum of Natural History, if you merge two blobs and one of them has learned new things, it will automatically transfer the knowledge to the other blob. David further described the slime mould as “one of nature's mysteries”. Moreover, the scientific researchers at the Zoological Park also say that blob can solve problems like avoiding traps, finding a way through a maze and it can even anticipate and adapt to the changes of the environment. A study has also been published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society in 2016, has disclosed that blob can learn to ignore noxious substances and can recall the behaviour even after 365 days. 

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Is it a plant or an animal?

Scientists have made sure that blob is not a plant, however, if it is an animal or a fungus has still not been identified. However, it looks like a mushroom but behaves like an animal. The unicellular organism has been named blob after a McQueen science fiction film released in 1958. In the film, an alien known as The Blob consumes everything that is on its path. The scientific name of the blob is Physarum Polycephalum is reportedly believed to be around for nearly a billion years but it first gained attention in 1973 when a woman in Texas saw it growing in her backyard. 

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(With inputs from agencies)