Scientists Create Computer Memory From Shiitake Mushrooms
▼ Summary
– Scientists have created memristors using shiitake mushroom mycelium, which function similarly to silicon-based components but are potentially low-cost and eco-friendly.
– The fungal memristors mimic neural activity, requiring less power when inactive and offering computational and economic advantages.
– Mycelial networks were chosen because their structure and electrical signal transmission resemble biological neural networks.
– The mushroom-based memristor achieved a performance of 5,850 Hz with 90% accuracy, comparable to early commercial memristors.
– This research indicates a promising path for developing biodegradable, accessible computing components, with potential uses from personal devices to aerospace.
Imagine a future where the memory inside your computer grows not from silicon wafers in a sterile factory, but from the humble shiitake mushroom sitting on a grocery store shelf. Researchers have successfully built working computer memory components, known as memristors, using the root-like mycelium of shiitake mushrooms. This breakthrough points toward a new generation of electronics that could be far more affordable, scalable, and environmentally friendly than the hardware we use today.
Memristors are special circuit elements that retain a memory of their past electrical states, functioning in a way that is similar to the synapses connecting neurons in a brain. For scientists aiming to build computers that operate more like biological brains, developing components that mimic this neural behavior is essential. The mycelial networks of fungi are a surprisingly good fit for this role, as they are structured in a web-like fashion and transmit information using electrical signals, much like a neural network.
To turn this biological potential into a functional electronic component, a research team selected shiitake mushrooms for their notable robustness and resistance to environmental stressors. They cultivated nine separate mycelium samples in petri dishes under carefully controlled conditions. Once the fungal networks had grown to cover the dishes, the samples were dried in direct sunlight to ensure their long-term stability for testing.
The prepared mycelium samples were then integrated into a custom-built electrical circuit. By attaching wires and probes to different points on the mushroom tissue, the scientists could measure its electrical properties. “Distinct parts of the mushroom possess different electrical characteristics,” explained psychiatrist John LaRocco of Ohio State University. “We observed varying performance levels depending on the applied voltage and how the connections were made.”
The resulting “mushristor” demonstrated a remarkable performance, achieving an operating speed of 5,850 Hertz with 90 percent accuracy. This means it could switch its electrical state about 5,850 times every second. While this is roughly half the speed of the slowest memristors currently available on the market, it represents an extremely promising start for a technology in its infancy. The team did discover that performance declined as the electrical voltage was increased, but they found a clever workaround: they compensated for the drop in performance by simply adding more mushrooms to the circuit.
A significant advantage of this fungal-based technology is its potential for extremely low power consumption. “Developing microchips that can mimic actual neural activity means you don’t need a lot of power for standby mode or when the device is idle,” LaRocco noted. “This offers a substantial potential advantage, both computationally and economically.”
You won’t be browsing the internet on a mushroom-powered laptop tomorrow, but the findings open a fertile new path for research. The goal is to develop accessible, low-cost, and fully biodegradable electronic components. The potential applications are vast, ranging from everyday personal devices to specialized equipment used in aerospace. The barrier to entry for exploring this field is also remarkably low. LaRocco suggested that the necessary resources could be “as small as a compost heap and some homemade electronics, or as large as a culturing factory with pre-made templates.” As the research team concluded, the future of computing could very well be fungal.
(Source: Science Alert)
