Mushrooms are an incredibly versatile food, used for many purposes around the world. We may use them in our steaks and fried foods, but they hold great potential for the future of sustainable technology.
Published in PLOS Onenew research has revealed an exciting new role for mushrooms: helping to power the computers of the future through data storage. Thanks to mushrooms' well-developed neural networks, mushrooms are a viable replacement for the expensive metal devices typically used in computers.
“The ability to design microchips that mimic real neural activity means you don't need a lot of power when the machine is idle or not in use,” John LaRocco, the study's lead author, said in the report. press release. “This could be a huge potential computational and economic benefit.”
Read more: Our prehistoric ancestors may have eaten mushrooms the same way some primates do today
Fungi and bioelectronics
Scientists have long known that mushroomsand mushrooms in general are incredibly resilient and have many properties that make them unique. Their ability to create neural networks makes them particularly suitable for bioelectronics, an emerging interdisciplinary field of research that combines electronics and biological materials.
In this study, the researchers focused on two mushrooms that are commonly found in our kitchens: shiitake and button mushrooms. They discovered that these two types of fungi could be specifically grown to act as organic memristors. Memristors are a type of data processor that can remember past electrical states even when they are turned off.
Thanks to the neural abilities of mushrooms, they were able to reproduce this electrical memory as efficiently as semiconductor chips.
Turning mushrooms into computer chips
Researchers grew shiitake and button mushrooms in his laboratory for use in his biotechnology experiments. After ripening and dehydration, the mushrooms were connected to an electronic circuit and exposed to electric current. Testing was extensive, including different positions, voltages and frequencies to explore the mushrooms' full potential.
“We connected electrical wires and sensors at different points in the mushroom because different parts of the mushroom have different electrical properties. Depending on the voltage and connection, we observed different characteristics,” LaRocco explained.
The experiments continued for months, and the mushrooms continued to work, switching between stored electrical states with 90 percent accuracy. The mushrooms had one weak point – the higher the frequency of the electrical voltage, the worse the performance.
This behavior is actually consistent with how the neural network in the brain works, and it was corrected in the same way by increasing the number of mushrooms connected to the network to help share the neural load.
The future of biotechnology
The success of this research shows how easy it will be for future technologies to achieve impressive advances while protecting the environment. Society's concern for protecting the environment for future generations “may be one of the driving factors behind such new green ideas,” added Qudsia Takhmina, co-author of the study.
Although mushroom memristors are still in the early stages of development, they could be used in everything from aerospace research to wearable technology. According to LaRocco, it could also be the kind of biotechnology available to us at home: “All you need to start studying mushrooms and computers could be as small as a compost heap and some homemade electronics.”
Read more: What makes Death Cap mushrooms the deadliest in the world?
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