Mushroomtronics: Scientists Transform Mushrooms Growing On Waste Wood Into Computer Chip Material

A mushroom variety that is often been considered useless has now become the prime candidate for computer chip bases. Scientists say the mushroom's skins work nearly as well as traditional computer chip substrates. Researchers from the Johannes Kepler University in Austria stumbled upon the biodegradable alternative while analyzing the uses of fungi-derived materials. Their study, published in the journal Science Advances, shows Ganoderma lucidum mushroom skin works well as a substitute for the substrate used in electrical circuits. "There was a fair share of serendipity involved," Martin Kaltenbrunner, head of the university's Division of Soft Matter Physics and co-author of the paper, told CNN.