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Updated: Oct 23, 2025
08:52
Characterizing Electron Transport through Living Biofilms
Published on: June 1, 2018
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On electrical gates on fungal colony
Alexander E Beasley1, Phil Ayres2, Martin Tegelaar3
1Centre for Engineering Research, University of Hertfordshire, UK; Unconventional Computing Laboratory, UWE, Bristol, UK.
Bio Systems
|August 17, 2021
Summary
Living mycelium networks can function as electrical computing substrates. Researchers successfully implemented Boolean logic gates like AND, OR, and AND-NOT using resistive and capacitive (RC) networks modeled from Aspergillus niger fungal colony structures.
Area of Science:
- Mycology
- Biocomputing
- Electrical Engineering
Background:
- Mycelium networks offer complex structures suitable for novel computing paradigms.
- Developing unconventional computing devices from biological materials is an emerging research area.
- Fungal colonies present unique electrical properties that can be leveraged for computation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the implementation of Boolean logic gates using electrical properties of fungal colonies.
- To prototype electrical analog computers utilizing living mycelium networks.
- To investigate hybrid mycelium-nanoparticle systems for computing applications.
Main Methods:
- A 3D image data stack of an Aspergillus niger fungal colony was acquired.
- The fungal colony was converted into an Euclidean graph representation.
- The colony was modeled as resistive and capacitive (RC) networks, with electrical parameters dependent on edge lengths.
Main Results:
- Boolean logic gates, specifically AND, OR, and AND-NOT, were found to be implementable.
- The implementation was achieved within RC networks derived from the actual geometry of the fungal colony.
- Electrical signal propagation and interaction within the mycelium network were analyzed.
Conclusions:
- Boolean logic operations are feasible using electrical properties of mycelium networks.
- Geometrical structures of fungal colonies can be translated into functional computational networks.
- This research paves the way for developing bio-based electrical analog computers.
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