fungi
-
A 1964 Earthquake Might Have Unleashed A Deadly Fungus On The U.S. And Canada
Two decades ago, a rare but deadly fungal infection began killing animals and people in the U.S. and Canada. To this day, no one has figured out how it arrived there in the first place. Now a pair of scientists have put forth their own theory: Tsunamis, sparked by a massive earthquake in 1964, soaked…
-
The Fungus That Turns Ants Into Zombies Is More Diabolical Than We Realised
Carpenter ants of the Brazilian rain forest have it rough. When one of these insects gets infected by a certain fungus, it turns into a so-called “zombie ant” and is no longer in control of its actions. Manipulated by the parasite, an infected ant will leave the cosy confines of its arboreal home and head…
-
The Game Of Thrones Intro Recreated With Slime Mould Is Glorious
Video: Slime moulds and fungi might not rank high on anyone’s list of favourite organisms, but there is a compelling beauty in their growth patterns. And now Transcend Rules has taken “slimeography” to a whole new level, setting those patterns to the Game of Thrones theme music. It might just be the solace fans crave…
-
Mushrooms Can Mine The Gold From Your Old Mobile Phones
Crack open your dumb old phone, and you’ll find lots of circuits and no lack of precious metals. In 100,000 mobile phones, it’s estimated that there is 2.4kg of gold, more than 900kg of copper, 25kg of silver and more, according to Motherboard. Could a safer and and cheaper method of recovering that metal come…