25/07/2025
"Using ultra-sensitive electrodes, the team recorded signals that appeared to mimic the structure and rhythm of a 50-word vocabulary." 🧙🍄
In a groundbreaking study, computer scientist Dr. Andrew Adamatzky and his team at the Unconventional Computing Laboratory of the University of the West of England have uncovered what may be the first electrical "language" in the fungi kingdom. By analyzing the electrical activity of ghost fungi, enoki mushrooms, split gill fungi, and caterpillar fungi, researchers detected electrical patterns far more complex than previously imagined. Using ultra-sensitive electrodes, the team recorded signals that appeared to mimic the structure and rhythm of a 50-word vocabulary.
The research, published in Royal Society Open Science, revealed that these electrical impulses, much like brain signals, are passed through fungal networks known as mycelium. Each pulse pattern is unique to the species and could be influenced by changes in the environment, raising the possibility that fungi are not just reacting passively, but may be communicating, coordinating, or sharing information with their neighbors underground. The findings echo theories that mushrooms possess intelligence or social behavior at a level never before recognized in the natural world.
This discovery opens up new frontiers in biology, computing, and our understanding of how life communicates. If fungi truly use an electrical language, it could revolutionize the way we study everything from plant-fungi partnerships to the design of unconventional computers. The silent conversations beneath our feet might be far richer and more mysterious than we ever suspected.
📚 Source: Adamatzky, A. (2025), Royal Society Open Science | University of the West of England, Unconventional Computing Lab
