Wang Ya
→ Growing Colors 2024-2025
→ Dictyostelium 2024-2025
→ Cell-Cell 2023-2024
→ Inner Kinship 2022
→ Ants 2021
Acknowledgements
Contact
→ Growing Colors 2024-2025
→ Dictyostelium 2024-2025
→ Cell-Cell 2023-2024
→ Inner Kinship 2022
→ Ants 2021
Acknowledgements
Contact
Scientifically, it is known as a classic model organism—a humble, single-celled amoeba dwelling in the soil of temperate forests, grazing on bacteria. But its true wonder is revealed when survival is at stake. When food runs out, thousands of solitary cells gather through chemical signals and self-organize into a moving, pulsating collective—a “slug” that journeys toward light before transforming into a delicate fruiting body.
This phenomenon anchors a collaborative research project I contribute to: "Emergence: From Social Amoeba to Collective Robots" (co-authored manuscript in preparation). In this study, we investigate the emergent intelligence displayed in their aggregation and their remarkable robustness against physicochemical perturbations. Through this interdisciplinary work, I aim to bridge distinct systems, capturing the universal laws of emergence that govern both living cells and artificial swarms.
Here, in this tiny organism, I witness sacrifice, collaboration, and the blurring line between “individual” and “society.” The following eight photographs illustrate the process of cellular communication and aggregation in response to environmental stress.
Microphotography of Dictyostelium Aggregation