text: The directed Physarum dynamics is known to solve positive linear programs: minimize @math subject to @math and @math for a positive cost vector @math . The directed Physarum dynamics evolves a positive vector @math according to the dynamics @math . Here @math is the solution to @math that minimizes the "energy" @math . In this paper, we study the non-uniform directed dynamics @math , where @math is a positive diagonal matrix. The non-uniform dynamics is more complex than the uniform dynamics (with @math being the identity matrix), as it allows each component of @math to react with different speed to the differences between @math and @math . Our contribution is to show that the non-uniform directed dynamics solves positive linear programs.
  @cite_0: The plasmodium of the slime mould Physarum polycephalum is a large amoeba-like cell consisting of a dendritic network of tube-like structures (pseudopodia). It changes its shape as it crawls over a plain agar gel and, if food is placed at two different points, it will put out pseudopodia that connect the two food sources. Here we show that this simple organism has the ability to find the minimum-length solution between two points in a labyrinth.
summary: is a slime mold that apparently is able to solve shortest path problems. Nakagaki, Yamada, and T ' o th @cite_0 report about the following experiment; see Figure . They built a maze, covered it by pieces of Physarum (the slime can be cut into pieces which will reunite if brought into vicinity), and then fed the slime with oatmeal at two locations. After a few hours the slime retracted to a path following the shortest path in the maze connecting the food sources. The authors report that they repeated the experiment with different mazes; in all experiments, Physarum retracted to the shortest path.