Slimeball that ate Tokyo might help road designers

LiveScience.com is reporting that experts trying to design a way out of traffic jams are studying an odd potential source of help: slime mold. It seems one particular mold feeding on food crumbs created a design that is a dead-ringer for the Tokyo rail system. The mold grows via a series of linked veins that look a little like a very erratic spider web. The result is an intriguing pattern that finds very efficient ways through a maze of potential obstacles.  Check out the story.