Overview
- Scientists cultivated shiitake and button mushrooms, dehydrated the samples, and wired them into custom circuits to probe their electrical behavior.
- The fungal devices exhibited memristor-like switching, retaining information about prior electrical states relevant to neuromorphic computing.
- Performance declined at higher frequencies, but linking multiple samples improved stability, indicating network effects within the fungal circuits.
- The work, led by John LaRocco with co-author Qudsia Tahmina, presents a biodegradable, potentially low-energy alternative to conventional materials.
- Researchers stress the approach remains an early proof of concept with a large performance gap versus silicon chips and significant miniaturization and manufacturing challenges ahead.