Will future computers live? This is what some scientists believe, and they are already working to make it happen by combining fungi and circuits.
It looks like something out of science fiction and visually reminds me of images from The Last of Us, but these Computers made of mushrooms are real, and advances that were just speculation not too long ago. The aptly named Unconventional Computing Laboratory at the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) has already demonstrated rudimentary operation of motherboards working on both electronics and fungi.
An eccentric lab led by Professor Andrew Adamatzuk is taking these steps to make computers work on living devices. And it even looks like that. Their previous workhorse, a fully functional motherboard, seems to have a lifespan of its own due to the branching mass distributed throughout the circuit.
“What I do is mix mycelium cultures with hemp or wood shavings, put them in a sealed plastic box, and let the mycelium colonize the substrate until everything looks white. “Then you insert the electrodes and record the electrical activity. Then the stimulus turns into electrical activity and you get a response.”
However, while binary languages are common in the field, experiments like this, and advances in quantum computing and other equally interesting experiments on brain cells, aim to transcend ‘0’ and ‘1’. and
Similarly, deciphering the language of fungi allows scientists to “connect to the broad web of the forest” and in this way study the state of ecosystems, thereby improving human computer systems.
They have previously shown that fungi can communicate via electrifying signals, and mycelium can send and receive them and retain memories.
The “mushroom computer” does not have the power and performance of traditional systems, but it exhibits other advantages that motivate scientists to pursue this path. For example, they can repair themselves and reconfigure themselves through their own growth, using far less energy than conventional equipment.
“At the moment, these are only feasibility studies. We have just shown that basic computing, logic, and electronic circuits can be implemented in mycelium. We will be able to grow more sophisticated computers and control devices,” says Adamatzky. Predict.
Source: Biobiochile
