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Mining logical circuits in fungi

Summary

Researchers successfully embedded computing circuits into living mushroom materials. By applying electrical signals to fungal mycelium composites, they discovered the fungi could perform complex logical operations similar to computer gates. This breakthrough suggests that future building materials made from fungi could incorporate computing capabilities, leading to intelligent, living structures that respond to their environment.

Background

Fungal mycelium bound composites are increasingly used as sustainable building and packaging materials. Currently these materials are passive and inert. This research explores embedding computational capabilities into living fungal materials through unconventional computing approaches.

Objective

To demonstrate how logical circuits can be implemented in mycelium bound composites and characterize the complexity of Boolean functions discovered. The study aims to develop adaptive fungal materials capable of sensing and computing.

Results

A total of 3,136 four-input-one-output Boolean functions were discovered, with 470 unique functions identified. Functions included computationally universal rules exhibiting glider dynamics. Analysis via cellular automata showed functions spanning all complexity classes from trivial to chaotic behavior.

Conclusion

Mycelium bound composites successfully implement a wide range of Boolean circuits through nonlinear signal transformation. The discovery of computationally universal functions demonstrates potential for embedding computation into living materials, opening possibilities for intelligent bio-structures.
  • Published in:Scientific Reports,
  • Study Type:Experimental Laboratory Study,
  • Source: 10.1038/s41598-022-20080-3, PMID: 36151275
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