PARASITES are nature's thieves, but we can harness this behaviour for our own gain.
We use algorithms to work out complicated problems like the best truck route or crew schedule, because finding a good solution means fiddling with the values of many parameters simultaneously.
One way they can do this is by using groups of virtual creatures that wander through "parameter space", looking for valleys that represent the lowest values. Mathematicians have taken inspiration from actual animals, from grey wolves to ants. One limitation, though, is that the animals sometimes fail to notice a deeper valley nearby. Adding parasites can stop this from happening, say Shi Cheng of the University of Nottingham Ningbo, in China, and his colleagues.
In their model, a swarm of animals searched for the lowest valleys, but was then joined by a second, parasitic population. This group searched for valleys, but also abducted the most successful animals and made them work for the parasite team.
The result of this struggle for life was a more varied collection of creatures that enabled the parasitic algorithm to solve a problem in half the time (Applied Soft Computing, doi.org/3j6).
This article appeared in print under the headline "Parasites make for efficient algorithms"
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