Here\u2019s what you\u2019ll learn when you read this story:<\/p>\n
Scientists at Ohio State University have developed memristors\u2014typically used in non-volatile data storage\u2014made from common mushrooms.<\/p>\n
Although not as powerful as metal memristors, these fungal components could still switch electrical states at 5,850 signals per second with about 90 percent accuracy.<\/p>\n
While mushrooms won\u2019t replace commercial computing components, this discovery does help push forward organic computing.<\/p>\n
The future is fungal, and in more ways than one.<\/p>\n
Many farmers are switching from chickens to mushrooms<\/a> as the cost of animal agriculture continues to rise grows, NASA wants to build extraterrestrial habitats using fungi<\/a>, and scientists are continually exploring the therapeutic uses of the mushroom-derived psychedelic psilocybin<\/a>.<\/p>\n Now, the world of computing is getting in on the mycelium revolution<\/a>. A new study led by scientists at Ohio State University (OSU) has created organic memristors\u2014components capable of remembering past electric states, typically used for non-volatile data storage\u2014using mushrooms. And these aren\u2019t some exotic mushrooms found in some remote rainforest. In fact, you can buy them at your local grocery store. The results of the study were published in the journal PLOS One<\/a>.<\/p>\n Creating computer components out of shiitake and button mushrooms likely spawns one question: Why? Well, while Apple won\u2019t be releasing a fungus-based Macbook anytime soon, an organic computer<\/a> does come with a variety of cost and energy efficiency advantages while also providing a compelling platform for future neuromorphic (i.e. brain-like) computers.<\/p>\n \u201cMycelium 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,\u201d John LaRocco, lead author of the study from OSU, said in a press statement<\/a>. \u201cBeing 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\u2019t being used. That\u2019s something that can be a huge potential computational and economic advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n Using common mushrooms, LaRocco and his team cultured the samples, dehydrated them, and then connected them to electronic circuits. Because distinct parts of the mushroom have different electrical properties, the team was able to probe various parts of the fungal memristor and tweak voltage and connectivity for optimal performance.<\/p>\n Two months later, the researchers noted that when they used the mushroom device for Random Access Memory (RAM), the mushroom memristors switched between electrical states at 5,850 signals per second with about a 90 percent accuracy. This is far below the efficiency of typical memristors, and the performance dipped as voltages increased. However, the authors note that, like the brain<\/a>, this could be overcome by connecting more mushroom material to the circuit.<\/p>\n