Slime Mould Memristors

In laboratory experiments, we demonstrate that protoplasmic tubes of the acellular slime mould Physarum polycephalum show current versus voltage profiles consistent with memristive systems, and that this effect is due to the living protoplasm of the mould. This complements previous findings on memristive properties of other living systems (human skin and blood) and contributes to the development of self-growing bio-electronic circuits. Distinctive asymmetric V–I curves which were occasionally observed when the internal current is on the same order as the driven current, are well-modelled by the concept of active memristors.