Mushrooms are the coolest. Not quite flora, not quite fauna, they are a secret third thing—isn't that neat? Many types of fungi have also been observed to form symbiotic relationships with the root systems of plants. Sometimes mutualistic, sometimes parasitic, this root-meets-fungus network is called 'Mycorrhiza'—and a similar web of mycelium may one day come to a rig near you.

No, this isn't my pitch for a funguspunk trilogy, this is actual science. Researchers at the Ohio State University recently found that mushrooms you can eat can also be trained to act as bioelectronic data processors (via phys.org ). Specifically, the team grew shiitake and button mushrooms, dehydrated these cultures for long-term use, and trained the fungi to function like organic memristors through methodical ele

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