The idea of computing with deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) molecules first received attention in 1987, from the mathematician Tom Head [1]. In 1994, in a seminal paper [2], Adleman solved an instance of a Hamiltonian path problem using DNA in a wet lab, thus giving birth to DNA computing. Since then a new paradigm of unconventional computing has emerged as a mature area. Physarum computing is one such area where researchers explore the slime mold Physarum polycephalum, an amoeba-like organism.

The book covers this exciting area of unconventional computing in three parts. Part 1 (20 chapters) focuses on experimental developments. Part 2 (13 chapters) focuses on theoretical developments. Finally, Part 3 (five chapters) focuses on music and art.

After covering the basic biology of Physarum in chapter 1, the next chapter provides background on the experimental platform of Physarum polycephalum. Chapter 3 covers “several families of Boolean gates and circuits: attraction gates, ballistic gates, repellent gates, frequency gates, fluidic gates, and quantitative transformation circuits.” The rest of the chapters discuss electronics, power laws, sensors, wires, and so on.

Part 2 covers several models of Physarum computing, algorithms, graph optimization problems, cellular automata, p-adic computations, multiagent models, and so on.

Part 3 starts with a discussion of Physarum-based computer music. Other chapters introduce microelectrode arrays (MEAs) with Physarum and review “television and film work featuring myxomycetes.”

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to explore the wonderful opportunities in the area of Physarum computing. Graduate students, researchers, and engineers will find it useful. The book’s focus on experimentation is its strength. I gave the book to one of my colleagues, an expert in electronics, and he was amazed by the futuristic opportunities.