Scientists have discovered a groundbreaking new use for mushrooms that could change everything

Not only are mushrooms packed with antioxidants and serve as an excellent source of Vitamin D, but they can also be used as a computer hard drive alternative, according to researchers from The Ohio State University.

Fungal electronics, a family of living electronic devices made of mycelium-bound composites or pure mycelium, are not a new concept.

In 2018, scientists in the United States claimed they’d found a way to make environmentally friendly energy using bionic mushrooms covered in bacteria.

Five years later, Austrian experts announced they could replace unrecyclable plastic polymers to form the base of electronic chips with fungi, too.

Now, another set of United States professionals, this time from Ohio State University, have claimed that shiitake mushrooms and other commonly found edible fungi can be grown and trained to act as organic memristors, a type of data processor that can remember past electrical states, as reported by Ohio State News.

Mushrooms have been found to act as organic memristors, according to experts (Getty Stock Image)

The research, published in the PLOS ONE journal, explained how experts were able to use old shiitake mushrooms to build working memristors, circuit elements that ‘remember’ their past electrical states.

The experts’ findings showed that the shiitake-based devices were not only able to demonstrate similar repeatable memory effects to semiconductor-based chips, but that they could be used to create other types of budget, eco-friendly computing components.

Speaking about the breakthrough, John LaRocco, lead author of the study and a research scientist in psychiatry at Ohio State’s College of Medicine, said: “Being able to develop microchips that mimic actual neural activity means you don't need a lot of power for standby or when the machine isn't being used.

“That's something that can be a huge potential computational and economic advantage.”

The experiments were conducted by first seeding nine samples in substrate-filled petri dishes with shiitake spores.

These were then grown under controlled temperature and humidity conditions, as reported by Science Alert.

Once the mycelium had grown enough to cover the petri dish, experts working on the study would dry out each sample in an area with direct sunlight.

Once fully dry, each sample was connected to a purpose-built circuit, where it would be connected to electrical wires and probes at ‘different points’.

This was because distinct parts of the sample would have ‘different electrical properties’, LaRocco explained.

Experts have said the humble mushroom could be a 'huge economic advantage' if research continues (Getty Stock Image)

"Depending on the voltage and connectivity, we were seeing different performances.”

Researchers discovered that when the electrical voltage increased, the mushroom’s performance did the opposite.

To compensate for this, the researchers added more mushrooms to the circuit.

"Everything you'd need to start exploring fungi and computing could be as small as a compost heap and some homemade electronics, or as big as a culturing factory with pre-made templates,” the study lead continued.

"All of them are viable with the resources we have in front of us now.”

While the mushroom samples may not be quite ready to charge your Kindle or work as a phone battery substitute just yet, it is a definite step in the right direction.

And who knows, we could be plugging electronic devices into a mushroom quicker than you would think.