Living things are able to learn thanks to their nervous systems that are made from a complex network of nerves and neurons. In this recent study, other living organisms that do not possess a brain or nervous systems, still have the ability to learn.

In this new study, slime molds or scientifically known as Physarum polycephalum, can apparently learn to ignore certain chemical signatures that are identified as threats to them, when they are exploring their habitat to search for food.

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According to lead author of the study, Romain Boisseau from the Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris, the interesting factor about slime molds is that they first appear to be simple since they are composed of only a single cell. Even if they possess only one cell, they can still accomplish amazing abilities that are previously thought to be only present with brains and nervous systems.

In this new study, researchers prepared three various obstacle courses that are laced with food at the end of each course. The first and second courses include with bitter but not poisonous compounds, such as coffee or quinine and the third courses had no harmful compounds.

Researchers placed three different slime molds for each course where they observed the molds to analyze how fast they can respond to these different obstacles. The experiment lasted for nine days, where they observed that the slime molds that were placed in the first and second courses began to move faster within the span of six days.

The researchers switched the slime molds with other courses and found out that the slime molds took their time before speeding through the other courses with or without bitter compounds. The results revealed that after two days of no exposure to the coffee or quinine, the slime molds continued to approach the courses with its normal slow pace.

Observations also showed that slime molds reluctantly approached the coffee and the quinine that are blocking towards the food course, and when they learned that they are harmless, the continued their slow path.

Scientists call this process "habituation" which is a form of learning where an organism can decrease or cease its response to any stimulus after its repetitive presence in their environment. These new findings can shed light to the understanding of the first organisms on Earth and the early evolution of living things, such as single cell organisms. 

This new study is published in the journal Proceedings to Royal Society B.