Biochips made from mushrooms rival power of manmade semiconductors (newatlas.com)

Scientists at Ohio State University demonstrated that dehydrated mycelial mats from shiitake (and button) mushrooms can function as memristors—circuit elements whose resistance changes with past current and that can store and process information. The team grew dense mycelial mats on organic substrate, dried them, wired them into simple circuits and applied voltages across frequencies from 10 Hz to 5,850 Hz. The fungal devices switched between electrical states like RAM, holding information at up to 5,850 signals per second with roughly 90% accuracy (rising to ~95% at low frequencies). Performance fell at higher frequencies but improved by linking more fungal elements. Results were published in PLOS One. This work matters because it points to low-power, low-cost, eco-friendly alternatives to metal-oxide or silicon memristors, which require rare-earth minerals, high temperatures, and heavy manufacturing. Mycelium is compostable, can be grown at room temperature, and forms a self-repairing, 3D network that transmits impulses in neuron-like ways—making it promising for neural-inspired hardware, flexible architectures, and distributed sensing. Major challenges remain (device miniaturization, reliability, integration into conventional electronics), but the study opens practical pathways for biochips, fungal batteries, and greener computing components.