Slime Mold Traffic Optimization: Protoplasmic Solutions to Beijing Ring Road Congestion Model
By / Jul 22, 2025
In the bustling heart of Beijing, where traffic congestion has long been a thorny issue, an unlikely hero emerges from nature’s laboratory: slime mold. Scientists and urban planners are now turning to Physarum polycephalum, a brainless, single-celled organism, for inspiration in redesigning the city’s notorious ring road system. This unassuming organism, often found creeping across decaying leaves, has demonstrated an uncanny ability to create highly efficient transport networks—mirroring, and in some cases surpassing, human-engineered solutions. The implications for Beijing’s traffic woes could be revolutionary.