{"id":627462,"date":"2026-09-17T12:30:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T12:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/627462\/"},"modified":"2026-09-17T12:30:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T12:30:14","slug":"scientists-turned-ordinary-shiitake-mushrooms-into-living-computers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/627462\/","title":{"rendered":"Scientists Turned Ordinary Shiitake Mushrooms into Living Computers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Just for illustrative purposes. Credit: AI-generated by ZME Science\/Midjourney.<\/p>\n

You can grow a computer on your kitchen counter. Well, sort of. That\u2019s the radical implication of new research from The Ohio State University, where scientists have turned humble shiitake mushrooms into living electronic devices that can remember information.<\/p>\n

In their new study, psychiatrist and research scientist John LaRocco and colleagues describe a fungus-based computing system that mimics how neurons process information. <\/p>\n

\u201cBeing able to develop microchips that mimic actual neural activity means you don\u2019t need a lot of power for standby or when the machine isn\u2019t being used,\u201d said LaRocco. \u201cThat\u2019s something that can be a huge potential computational and economic advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Rise of the Mushristor<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Mycelial memristors connected to a circuit. Credit: PLOS One, 2025.<\/p>\n

Memristors \u2014 short for \u201cmemory resistors\u201d \u2014 are the brainlike workhorses of neuromorphic computing, capable of learning from previous electrical states. Traditional versions are made of silicon or metal oxides, born in costly foundries and dependent on rare-earth minerals. The Ohio State team decided to replace all that with fungi. Because why not?<\/p>\n

Specifically, they turned to shiitake mushrooms (Lentinula edodes), known for their resilience and peculiar sensitivity to electrical stimuli. So, the researchers grew the fungi in Petri dishes filled with farro, wheat germ, and hay until the mycelium formed a dense white mat. Then they dried the samples in sunlight, rehydrated them just enough to restore conductivity, and connected them to an Arduino-powered circuit. What they got was a memristor \u2014 a sort of tiny bioelectronic brain cell \u2014 that could remember and respond to electrical patterns.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would connect electrical wires and probes at different points on the mushrooms because distinct parts of it have different electrical properties,\u201d said LaRocco. \u201cDepending on the voltage and connectivity, we were seeing different performances.\u201d<\/p>\n

At low frequencies, the fungal chips switched states at up to 5,850 signals per second with about 90% accuracy. At slower voltages, that number climbed to 95%, rivaling the speed and precision of early silicon-based memristors. Like human synapses, the mushrooms could \u201clearn\u201d to adjust their resistance when stimulated repeatedly.<\/p>\n

Nature\u2019s Circuit Board<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t the first time scientists have tried to merge mushrooms and machines. Mycologists and engineers have long been fascinated by mycelium, or the threadlike underground network<\/a> that allows fungi to share nutrients and signals. It\u2019s self-repairing, adaptable, and can transmit tiny electrical impulses that look a lot like neural firing. <\/p>\n

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But Ohio State\u2019s work goes further: the researchers didn\u2019t just observe electrical chatter \u2014 they trained it.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>Mushroom mycelium. <\/p>\n

The paper describes a setup where each fungal disk acted as a node in a circuit, capable of volatile memory. Dehydration turned out to be key: drying the mushrooms made them durable while preserving their electronic traits. \u201cWe obtained experimental validation that dehydration can preserve the observed properties in a previously \u2018programmed\u2019 sample,\u201d the team wrote in their study.<\/p>\n

And shiitake fungi come with some remarkable extras. They\u2019re radiation-resistant, thanks in part to a compound called lentinan, which helps them endure oxidative stress. So, that opens the door to applications beyond Earth. \u201cShiitake has exhibited radiation resistance, suggesting its viability for aerospace applications,\u201d the authors noted.<\/p>\n

Beyond that, the environmental case for fungal electronics is equally compelling. Traditional semiconductor fabrication devours energy and produces electronic waste laced with heavy metals. Mycelium, by contrast, grows at room temperature<\/a> and decomposes naturally.<\/p>\n

\u201cSociety has become increasingly aware of the need to protect our environment and ensure that we preserve it for future generations,\u201d said Qudsia Tahmina, a co-author and associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Ohio State. \u201cSo that could be one of the driving factors behind new bio-friendly ideas like these.\u201d<\/p>\n

The cost is another advantage. \u201cEverything you\u2019d 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,\u201d LaRocco said. \u201cAll of them are viable with the resources we have in front of us now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Limitations and What\u2019s Possible<\/p>\n

Still, let\u2019s be frank. You\u2019re not gonna run everyday apps on mushrooms, unless those apps are in your head and the mushrooms are \u2018magic\u2019.<\/p>\n

The researchers are realistic about the limitations. These prototypes are large and slow compared to commercial chips. Shrinking fungal memristors down to nanoscale will take years of engineering and experimentation. Yet even in their current form, they\u2019re a proof of concept for something astonishing: computers that grow, adapt, and decay like living things. <\/p>\n

Imagine wearables made from biodegradable circuits that don\u2019t pollute once discarded, or spacecraft electronics that heal themselves after radiation exposure. Mycelial systems could one day power edge computing, autonomous machines, and even artificial brains that evolve with use. I\u2019ve heard of crazier things. <\/p>\n

\u201cFungal systems have lower power requirements, lighter weights, faster switching speeds, and lower industrial overheads than conventional devices,\u201d the authors conclude in their paper. \u201cThe future of computing could be fungal.\u201d<\/p>\n

The findings appeared in the journal\u00a0PLOS One<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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