Mushrooms: A Promising Element in Bioelectronics

In a world where technological progress is accelerating, mushrooms are emerging as a promising element in the field of bioelectronics. These new devices act as a bridge between technology and biology, opening doors to innovative and sustainable materials for future computing systems.

Mushrooms as Organic Memory Components

Researchers at Ohio State University recently conducted experiments on edible mushrooms, such as shiitake mushrooms, and discovered that they can function as organic memristors. These components act like memory cells that retain information about previous electrical states, making them similar to the memory behavior in electronic chips.

Experiments show that mushroom devices can replicate the same type of memory behavior seen in semiconductor chips. This technology could also contribute to creating environmentally friendly computing tools with lower production costs.

The Promise of Fungal Electronics

John Laruco, the lead author of the study and a research scientist in psychiatry at Ohio State University College of Medicine, noted that fungal electronics is not an entirely new idea, but it has become more feasible for sustainable computing. Since fungal materials are biodegradable and inexpensive to produce, they can help reduce electronic waste.

Laruco also explained that using mycelium as a computing substrate has been explored before in less obvious settings, but the current work aims to push one of these memristor systems to its limits.

Testing Fungal Memory

To test their capabilities, researchers cultivated samples of shiitake and white mushrooms. Once matured, they were dried for preservation and then attached to custom electronic circuits. The mushrooms were exposed to controlled electrical currents at various voltages and frequencies.

Laruco said, “We were connecting electrical wires and probes at different points on the mushrooms because different parts have different electrical properties. Depending on the voltage and connection, we observed different performances.”

Amazing Results from Mushroom Circuits

After two months of testing, researchers discovered that the mushroom-based memristor could switch between electrical states up to 5,850 times per second with about 90% accuracy. Although performance decreased at higher electrical frequencies, the team noted that connecting multiple mushrooms together helped restore stability, much like neural connections in the human brain.

Qudsia Tahmina, a co-author of the study and an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Ohio State University, said the results highlight how easily mushrooms can be adapted for computing use. She added that using mushrooms in computing suggests possibilities for scaling fungal computing to include applications in edge computing and space exploration.

Conclusion

While organic memristors are still in their early stages, scientists aim to improve cultivation methods and miniaturize device sizes in future work. Achieving smaller and more efficient fungal components will be key to making them viable alternatives to traditional chips. The use of mushrooms in electronics represents a step towards sustainable and efficient solutions in the computing world, opening doors to a bright future for bioelectronics.