Found in the shallow marshes, ponds, and swarms in Europe and North America are the distant relatives of rainworms. Called the blackworms, these invertebrates feed on microorganisms and debris. But what did scientists find interesting in them that they studied these creatures? The answer to that is the effective collective movement that they do. In times of drought, hundreds of these worms would aggregate into "blobs" to protect themselves.
According to scientists, these blobs could serve as a model for biological systems that are either too small or large to be observed.
The study of these blobs could also be applied to develop new robotic systems and build new materials that can reorganize to repair themselves.
More about this over at Frontiers Science News.
(Image Credit: Harry Tuazon)
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