What Amoebas Know

Psalm 119:105
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”

When lost in the forest with no clues to where to go, humans tend to go in circles. And we have brains. Amoebas, which don’t have brains, somehow manage not to end up going in circles when they have no clues where to go.

Normally, amoebas look for food by picking up its scent. When amoebas detect something good to eat, they move in its direction by extending parts of its body called pseudopods. However, when there are no scents to follow, many single-celled creatures tend to wander aimlessly. This turns out to be a very inefficient strategy for finding food. That’s because, just like humans, they end up wandering in circles. But after careful study, researchers from Princeton University have concluded that amoebas somehow manage to avoid this problem. Somehow, though they have no brain, they appear to remember where they have been. They suggest that forming pseudopods causes a type of temporary scarring on its cell wall which serves as a type of memory.

While amoebas are just looking for food, we ultimately seek an eternity with our Creator. Many people do not know of, or do not believe God’s Word and end up with lives that wander in spiritual circles. But God’s Word brings heaven’s light into our lives which lights the way to heaven through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Prayer: Father, thank You for the light of Your Word in this dark world. Help me to always walk in its light. Amen.

Ref: Science News, 3/31/07, p. 205, D.C., “How smart are amoebas?” Photo: “Amoeba Proteus, an animal consisting of a single naked cell. (PD)