Einer neuen Forschung zufolge scheinen einzelne Zellen zu einer komplexen Art des Lernens namens Gewöhnung fähig zu sein, die typischerweise mit ganzen Nervensystemen verbunden ist.

Summary:

From [oozing amoebas](https://www.sciencealert.com/the-predatory-slime-mold-from-the-last-of-us-isnt-actually-a-fungus-its-weirder) to our body’s own building blocks, individual cells appear to be capable of a complex type of learning typically associated with whole nervous systems, according to new research.

“This finding opens up an exciting new mystery for us: How do cells without brains manage something so complex?” [says](https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1064991) biologist Jeremy Gunawardena from Harvard Medical School.

The form of learning in question, called [habituation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habituation), occurs when the response to a non-rewarding stimulus reduces in magnitude the more it is repeated. It describes why wild animals may grow accustomed to the presence of humans, for example, or why a room’s unusual smell becomes less noticeable over time.

Read the peer-reviewed paper: [https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2024.10.041](https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2024.10.041)