The Cheating Amoeba Scanning electron micrograph of spore towers of the slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum. David Scharf / Photo Researchers, Inc What genes contribute to social interactions such as ...

Yes, that odd, spongy mass of white spores is actually a slime mold. But a slime mold isn’t actually a fungus in the sense of the word as we understand it. Instead, it’s more like an amoeba ...