Many, many poor little creatures with simpler or more robust or segmented nervous systems. Mostly common worms, cnidarians, starfish, metamorphosing insects, and more in that line of thought. It’s common in college bio to watch planarians unmangle themselves. Sucks for them, but they get food and relative safety, so I’ve always considered it an even trade

Based on the link sent by fossilesque@mander.xyz above, it seems somewhat unlikely. The video mentions that the sponge recombines into multiple small sponges, meaning the cells don't necessarily remember the original form.

I very well could be wrong in my interpretation though

The real scientist here asking the real questions

Excellent question!

Now on to the grinder...

I guess it makes sense that multicellularity would be more of a spectrum than a binary condition. If life evolved into it gradually, then it would make sense to find a lot of "intermediate" evolutionary states that don't feel like they're distinctly one or the other.

I mean, enough that manufacturing of homogenizers is a thing. https://improbable.com/2021/05/13/shakespeare-and-the-whole-mouse-homogenizer/?amp=1

The ad features the comforting headline: “Only the Polytron reduces an entire mouse to a soup-like homogenate in 30 seconds”

I think there's nematodes that we've blended up before, but instead you get a bunch of nematodes instead of just one.

I'm trying with a dog now, the hamster and the cat didn't work...

I find my body really struggles with basic repair when I dissociate

Yeah, but I don't think it works with a grinder.

However, apparently caterpillars retain memories from their caterpillar form when in butterfly form! That's pretty cool.

They don’t completely turn to goo, structures are already there in caterpillar form. https://youtu.be/4RaCURU6A2o

Give this person a grant and let them sciencify please

So, my assumption is: separated cells with the same genetic code, or some other biomarker of "individuality" that might not technically be unique, will attach to each other given the chance.

Super quick research suggests they don't have organs or a nervous system, but do have specialized bits like flagella to move water through their pores/tunnels. The majority of the cells just ... are. Sounds more like a colony of genetically identical cells than a single multi-cellular creature (to me), but I assume biologists have much more information and reason to consider them the way they do.

SCIENCE

and imagination 🌈

Without a nervous system, the only thing it can feel is ANGER.