After a year marked by the “Raise your blob” experience triggered both on the ground and in the International Space Station (ISS), will the “blob” be talked about again?

Yes ! We launched the “Behind the Blob, Research” citizen science project to study the effects of global warming on the blob and to show the general public what a science experiment is. And it will be truly unique in terms of the number of participants and its content. We want to create knowledge about the effects of global warming through the blob of this unicellular organism without being able to learn from the temperate undergrowth.

How will this experience unfold?

Each volunteer will receive two blobs, one for the control group and one for the experimental group. It will be Physarum polycephalum or its cousin Badhamia utricularis, a little more orange and more sensitive to heat. Depending on the availability indicated (at least one hour per day at a fixed time for five days), each participant will have to follow a protocol (we have established more than fifty with gradual or sudden increases in temperature). To conduct the experiment, we produce the blobs but the participants must acquire the rest of the equipment: Petri dishes, a heating bulb and a small thermometer for a maximum budget of 30 to 40 €. Everything will be supervised and guided. Amateur scientists keep their workbooks according to a very precise charter. They will carry out their experimental protocol between March and May 2022 for an analysis of the data during the summer and the writing of a scientific article in the fall of 2022… This will be an opportunity to show that research is taking shape. time !

Already 44,000 candidates

Did this proposal appeal to candidates?

Registrations will soon be closed and we already have 44,000 applicants… We were looking for 10,000! For the “Raise your blob” experiment, the objective was to share with 2000 classes but in the end, they were 4500! We always fall short of expectations when it comes to the blob.

We imagine that this success makes you happy?

Of course, but what stress! We will have to sort it out, select while trying not to leave people too disappointed, prepare the kits. A huge job awaits us. In any case, there will be no shortage of volunteers!

How does this participatory science experiment stand out?

Citizen science has been around for a long time, but it relies on major observation, such as taking pictures of birds, plants, a coastline, etc.

Do you know the profile of the candidates?

No, due to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). But a lot of people write to me or react to me on Facebook and we know how much kids and retirees are interested in the blob. Since the “Raise your blob” experience, I have received children’s drawings every day that are re-lining my lab! For several weeks, very strong ties were forged with the participating teachers, some of whom are still experimenting with the blob. The children were so proud to reproduce the same experience as Thomas Pesquet. The astronaut is their hero but the blob has become one too!

Registration until November 12

There are still a few days left to register for the participatory science project “Behind the blob, research”. Form to be completed on the CNRS website
Successful participants will be notified in January 2022 to conduct their experience between March and May 2022.