It is often thought that single-celled organisms are the lowest and most primitive organisms, they formed about 3.5 billion to 4.1 billion years ago, although they are the ultimate ancestors we have to admit, but because there is only one cell, not to mention the brain, not even the ability to move, can only stupidly stay in the water and wait for food to float over, and then slowly eat.
Single-celled organisms
But in recent days, this view has undergone a subversive change.
A new Harvard university study shows that certain single-celled organisms have very complex decision-making capabilities. Note that it is the ability to think about decisions, not simply move left to right.
In this experiment, the researchers found that certain single-celled organisms can choose from the behavioral level based on the external environment and "change the protocol" after the action fails.
This single-celled organism, known as rose trumpetworm, is a freshwater single-celled organism. As the name suggests, they are shaped a bit like trumpets, with a trumpet-like opening at one end of the body and flared hairs around them that help the body rotate and form a whirlpool that sucks food into the body. At the other end of the body, trumpetworms taper into a stabilizer that solidifies itself on the surface of the object.
Trumpet worms
The stimulus that the experimenters gave to these trumpetworms was a pulse of microplastic beads.
It can be observed that trumpetworms are able to respond to stimuli in a number of ways.
First, they curl up away from the plastic beads; if nothing works, they swing the flagella in the other direction and push the plastic beads away from the flared mouth; if not, they shrink their bodies to the minimum, lie on the solid surface, and then swim away at the right time.
Don't underestimate this seemingly simple behavior, know that trumpetworms have only one cell, and they have no ability to think at all. It's astounding to be able to come up with so many solutions without a brain — there seems to be some mechanism that can make them change their minds.
Hornworm dynamic diagram
The results were eventually published in the journal Contemporary Biology, and it is believed that scientists will be inspired by this experiment and examine the structure of our existing knowledge.