You can learn a lot from a little slime mold. For Nate Cira ... creating a branch-like structure that drives the movement of cells—and, on a more conceptual level, the Nokia Corporation.

Despite their simple structure, slime molds exhibit behaviors that suggest ... decision-making loop honed by evolution. As the single-cell organism moves, it extends thin veins of protoplasm ...

scientists are racing single-celled organisms like cancer cells and slime molds through microscopic mazes along paths the width of a human hair. WSJ’s Robert Lee Hotz reports.