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Paris Zoo Unveils the ‘Blob,’ a Mysterious Organism That Can Learn With No Brain

“If you merge two blobs, the one that has learned will transmit its knowledge to the other,” said the director of the Paris Museum of Natural History.

Paris’ Zoological Park unveiled a mysterious new organism on Wednesday that’s been dubbed the “blob,” after the 1958 science-fiction horror movie in which an alien life form consumes everything in its path. The real blob resembles a fungus and has no brain, but can learn and acts like an animal. It’s been on earth for millions of years, but scientists still don’t know exactly what it is. “The blob is a living being which belongs to one of nature’s mysteries,” said Bruno David, director of the Paris Museum of Natural History, a part of the Zoological Park. “We know for sure it is not a plant but we don’t really if it’s an animal or a fungus,” he said. “It behaves very surprisingly for something that looks like a mushroom... it has the behavior of an animal, it is able to learn.”

The bright yellow unicellular organism appears similar to a slime mold and is found all over the world. It can move and solve problems. According to David, the blob is capable of memory and can even apply its memory to move “around a labyrinth.” The blob has almost 720 sexes, can detect food and digest it without a mouth, stomach, or eyes, and when cut in half, can heal itself in two minutes. “It surprises us because it has no brain but is able to learn,” David said. “... And if you merge two blobs, the one that has learned will transmit its knowledge to the other.” The blob goes on display to the public in Paris on Saturday.