Researchers have found that fungal networks may offer a possible alternative to some of the tiny metal-based devices used for processing and storing digital information, according to a new study published in PLOS ONE.
The research, led by scientists at The Ohio State University, examined whether common edible mushrooms could be used to create organic memristors. A memristor is an electronic component that can remember previous electrical states even after power is removed, making it useful for storing and processing information. These devices are considered an important building block for future computing systems that are designed to work more like the human brain.
The work is part of a growing field known as bioelectronics, which combines biological materials with electronic systems. The researchers focused on shiitake and button mushrooms to explore whether their natural electrical properties could be adapted for computing. Their findings showed that mushroom-based memristors demonstrated reproducible memory behavior similar to semiconductor-based devices.
Scientists believe such systems could support neuromorphic computing, an approach that is inspired by the way the brain processes information. Unlike conventional computers, which separate memory and processing into different components, neuromorphic systems bring the two functions closer together. This allows many calculations to happen at the same time, a process known as parallel processing, while reducing the amount of energy needed to perform certain tasks.
Lead author John LaRocco, a research scientist in psychiatry at Ohio State"s College of Medicine, said this approach could improve the efficiency of future computing systems.
“Being able to develop microchips that mimic actual neural activity means you don"t need a lot of power for standby or when the machine isn"t being used,” said LaRocco. “That"s something that can be a huge potential computational and economic advantage.”
Current neuromorphic technologies rely mainly on semiconductors, materials such as silicon whose electrical conductivity can be precisely controlled to process digital information. Manufacturing these chips often requires rare-earth materials, a group of metallic elements widely used in advanced electronics because of their unique electrical and magnetic properties. Although these elements are relatively common in the Earth"s crust, extracting and refining them can be expensive and energy intensive.
Another area of research uses neural organoids, small three-dimensional clusters of brain cells grown from stem cells that can reproduce some features of the human brain. However, these living tissues must be maintained inside carefully controlled bioreactors, which regulate temperature, nutrients, oxygen and other conditions needed for survival.
According to the researchers, fungal materials could offer a simpler and more sustainable alternative. Mushrooms are biodegradable, can be grown rather than manufactured through energy-intensive industrial processes, and may reduce the need for some of the raw materials used in conventional electronic devices.
LaRocco noted that fungi have been studied for electronic applications before, but said the new research examined how far mushroom-based memristive systems could be developed.
“Mycelium as a computing substrate has been explored before in less intuitive setups, but our work tries to push one of these memristive systems to its limits,” he said.
The study focused on the mushroom"s mycelium, the network of fine, thread-like fungal filaments that grows beneath the visible mushroom. Mycelium naturally carries small electrical signals throughout the fungal network. These signals resemble neuronal spiking, the brief electrical pulses that neurons use to communicate throughout the brain and nervous system.
To investigate whether these natural electrical signals could be used for computing, the researchers cultivated samples of shiitake and button mushrooms. Once the mushrooms matured, they were dehydrated, removing their water content to preserve the fungal material while maintaining its electrical properties over longer periods. The team then connected the mushrooms to electronic circuits using electrodes, conductive components that allow electrical signals to enter, leave or be measured in a material. Different electrical voltages and frequencies were applied to study how the fungi responded.
“We would connect electrical wires and probes at different points on the mushrooms because distinct parts of it have different electrical properties,” said LaRocco. “Depending on the voltage and connectivity, we were seeing different performances.”
Over a two-month testing period, the researchers evaluated the mushroom-based memristors as random access memory (RAM), the type of computer memory that temporarily stores data while software is running. The study found that the devices could switch between electrical states at frequencies of up to 5.85 kHz, meaning they changed states about 5,850 times every second. During these tests, they achieved an accuracy of 90 ± 1%, indicating the devices performed correctly about 90% of the time, with only a small variation between repeated experiments.
Performance declined as the electrical frequency increased. However, the researchers found that adding more mushrooms to the circuit improved the results, a behavior they compared with the way groups of neurons work together in the brain.
Co-author Qudsia Tahmina, an associate professor in electrical and computer engineering at Ohio State, said the findings demonstrate that mushrooms can be programmed and preserved to perform functions not normally associated with biological materials.
“Society has become increasingly aware of the need to protect our environment and ensure that we preserve it for future generations,” said Tahmina. “So that could be one of the driving factors behind new bio-friendly ideas like these.”
The researchers said the flexibility of fungal materials could allow future systems to be adapted for different uses. Larger fungal networks could potentially support edge computing, where data is processed closer to the location where it is collected instead of relying entirely on distant data centres. This can reduce delays and lower network traffic. Smaller fungal systems could eventually find applications in autonomous systems and wearable devices.
The study also points to another characteristic of shiitake that could make it useful beyond conventional computing. Previous research has shown that shiitake exhibits radiation resistance, meaning it can continue functioning after exposure to levels of ionizing radiation that can damage many electronic systems. Because spacecraft operate in environments where radiation is a constant challenge, the researchers suggest fungal computing materials could eventually have aerospace applications. However, the current study did not directly test mushroom-based computing devices under space conditions.
Despite these findings, the researchers note that fungal computers remain at an early stage of development. The mushroom-based memristors used in the experiments are still much larger than the components found in modern electronic devices. Future research will focus on improving mushroom cultivation methods, reducing the size of the devices, increasing their performance and understanding how fungal electrical signaling can be controlled more precisely.
Overall, the findings suggest fungi could become a scalable and environmentally friendly platform for neuromorphic computing. By combining the natural electrical behaviour of mycelial networks with bioelectronics, researchers hope to develop new forms of unconventional computing, a field that explores alternatives to traditional silicon-based computers by using biological materials and other non-traditional systems to process information.
LaRocco said research into fungal computing can be carried out with resources ranging from small-scale experiments to larger production facilities.
“Everything you"d need to start exploring fungi and computing could be as small as a compost heap and some homemade electronics, or as big as a culturing factory with pre-made templates,” said LaRocco. “All of them are viable with the resources we have in front of us now.”
Source: Ohio State University, PLOS
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