"Hi
In principle there ought to be no limit to size - just from the biochemical point of view but maintaining sufficient humidity, hygiene and food becomes hard at large sizes. Square meter is totally possible and not too hard - I've grown on…"
An international network of/for intelligent organisms
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ian
- Birmingham
- United Kingdom
- Blog Posts (11)
- Discussions (152)
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- Photos (33)
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- Videos (8)
ian's Discussions
Will physarum consume human blood - a preliminary study
Started this discussion. Last reply by Heather Barnett May 7, 2018. 2 Replies 2 Likes
Pursuing my quest to create the Lex Luthor of the myxomycetes, I’ve been having a play.200mg rolled oats were mixed with 100mg fresh human blood from a health 46 year old male and air dried for two…Continue
Big Bang Fair 2018 - Amazing Mazie on tour
Started Mar 29, 2018 0 Replies 1 Like
It took three months of preparation but we did it - physarum at the biggest science fair in…Continue
So how do we use slime for evil instead of good?
Started this discussion. Last reply by Gaspard Bébié-Valérian Feb 15. 4 Replies 0 Likes
We're all aware of how great slime moulds are and how they inspire artists, scientists and nutters to perform great deeds.But we're neglecting the darker side of life, how might an evil genius make…Continue
ian's Page
Latest Activity
ian replied to İrem's discussion slime growth is not normal"If you've a weak or contaminated sample, it's worth putting a fresh oat right next to one that's colonised. Is your agar just plain agar with no nutrients? - physarum tends to stay put on nutrient agar
cheers
Ian"
ian replied to İrem's discussion slime growth is not normal"Hi
It doesn't look like they've grown at all, the oats don't appear to be colonised. How are you transferring them, to the agar?
cheers
Ian"
ian replied to Sephen's discussion Does it Poop?"The white trail is pretty much it. If you feed them a little powdered charcoal in their oats, you'll see how they pick it up and excrete it in their slime trail. They'll do the same trick with some fabric dyes which leads to some…"
ian replied to Gaspard Bébié-Valérian's discussion Why the physarum whitens?"That's actually the slime trail. As it explores physarum secretes slime, it'll spread out when it's looking for food but when it's located something it contracts down to the most efficient path leaving an outline of where it…"
"That's absolutely awesome. I'm currently working on physarum not being a case solver but an issue generator. I plan to use a ouija board for that purpose."
ian replied to Dante Solano's discussion Need help keeping sampe form being contaminated"Hi
An anti fungal would kill your slime. Plain agar ( you shouldn't be using nutrient) doesn't go mouldy - I use 2% in water, not sterilised and it's fine for a week or more - drying out is more of an issue "
ian replied to liuduyaya's discussion I found a very strange phenomenon"I use this trick - put an additional couple of smaller pieces of paper under your culture when you're drying down - the slime will collect over them as it's damper than the surrounding area so you'll get a thicker layer when it dried"
ian replied to liuduyaya's discussion I found a very strange phenomenon"They do vary in colour - It could be light exposure or response to something in the tree bark.
If your slime is exposed to light that might make it bunch up and start to clump - it's a preparation for spore forming and it's basically…"
ian commented on Anastasia Bragina's blog post Need help: starting a slime mould culture"Hi
No need for sterility with these guys they'll actually move away from contamination. The best option for food is rolled oat dotted around on the substrate and lightly moistened. I use oats straight from the bag - cheapest is fine…"
ian replied to liuduyaya's discussion Some questions about growing slime molds"What's the climate like where this species is found? When is it mostly likely to have a few weeks of dry weather? If you can mimic that you might have chance. We don't know if they can all form sclerotia so it might not be possible.…"
ian replied to liuduyaya's discussion Some questions about growing slime molds"Hi
Most of what we know is based on physarum.It might be that your species doesn't deal well with the same food all the time - it happens with fungi in culture- so you might need to alternate foods.
For sclerotia - a lower temperature might…"
ian replied to liuduyaya's discussion Some questions about growing slime molds"They don't like being near their own slime trails, if too much builds up they'll crawl away from it. Once a week either a piece of the slime and put it onto fresh paper or agar with new food or take all of the bedding, fold it in half and…"
Profile Information
- Name
- hardboiledparrot
- What is your interest in slime moulds? (we need to know you're not a bot or spamster)
- I'm a professional microscopist and amateur time lapse filmer. I'm looking forward to combining both disciplines with these fascinating organisms
- Academic Institution (if applicable)
- warwick
ian's Photos
ian's Videos
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When Worlds Collide
Added by ian 0 Comments 1 Like
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The Slime is Coming
Added by ian 0 Comments 0 Likes
Comment Wall (5 comments)
- At 21:03 on January 16, 2018, Kendra Fanconi said…
Oh that would be amazing. I was looking at ordering it from the US. Is there any issue with getting it through customs?
- At 16:05 on October 27, 2015,
Marijn Roelvink said…
- We received the Physarum today, thanks a lot!
- At 12:19 on October 14, 2015,
- Hi Ian, thank you for wanting to send the Physarum, I was just wondering if you could tell me when they will arrive, it'll help a lot with our planning :)
- At 10:37 on February 10, 2015, enrico viola said…
- I received my samples today: thanks a lot!
- At 8:10 on February 3, 2015, enrico viola said…
Sent you a pm with my address; thanks again!
Ian's Blog
Raising from Spores - Zero Tech Method
Posted on April 11, 2017 at 13:30 0 Comments 1 Like
I've been looking for a way to rear physarum from spores without resorting to bacterial lawns and needing autoclaves etc.
I've only done a couple of trials but this method seems to work ok, it does require a bit of patience.
I used petri dishes and filter paper but any container and a bit of tissue should work.
The idea is to let the food go off producing bacteria for the amoebal phase to feed off then slowly dry them out so they get persuaded to form…
Continue Big bang, big disappointment :)
Posted on March 16, 2016 at 17:04 0 Comments 1 Like
Four weeks of crazy work, turning the spare room into a culture lab and time lapse studio I made enough culture for two thousand people and I should be there with my friends and colleagues on the stand inspiring the next generation of scientists, slime fans and eccentrics.
Unfortunately I'm stuck on a hospital ward with fifty stitches in my neck waiting until I'm allowed home. So it goes I suppose but damn I was looking forward to the Big Bang Fair, I couldn't even bring a slime…
Continue Plotting and planning....
Posted on June 2, 2015 at 11:31 0 Comments 1 Like
Getting involved with several schools in my area running STEM club activities - I'm trying to design a six week course on our dear sticky friend that'll be adaptable to ages 12-17. Looks like it'll be fun ( and a lot of work ). My own cultures have been dormant for a while aside from raising the odd batch but I should start playing again soon.
Raising slime again..
Posted on May 18, 2015 at 14:17 0 Comments 1 Like
Blimey it's been a while, we've got the finals lab projects for the students at work on at the moment so I'm not getting time to play. I've got a session with 95 school kids booked in in June so I'm raising as much slime as I can cope with in preparation for that.
I'm planning on getting them to make Plasticine mazes in petri dishes for their cultures so they've something to take home.
I've also got these intriguing mycena cholorophos spores ( a glowing mushroom ),…
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