Fungus News

November 22, 2024

Top Headlines

Building Roots in Glass, a Bio-Inspired Approach to Creating 3D Microvascular Networks Using Plants and Fungi

Nov. 19, 2024 — Researchers have developed a new bio-inspired approach to building complex 3D microfluidic networks by utilizing plant roots and fungal hyphae as molds. The team grew plants and fungi in ...

Insect-Killing Fungi Find Unexpected Harmony in War

Nov. 7, 2024 — A new study reveals that two strains of pathogenic fungi unexpectedly divide insect victims amongst themselves rather than aggressively compete for ...

New Fungal Spore Calendar Helps Allergy and Asthma Sufferers Plan for Better Health

Nov. 7, 2024 — England's first seasonal spore guide offers valuable insights into the potential rise of breathing problems in summer and ...

Research Shows Caterpillar Fungus Can Slow Down Growth of Cancer Cells

Nov. 7, 2024 — New research into a chemical produced by a caterpillar fungus that has shown promise as a possible cancer treatment has revealed how it interacts with genes to interrupt cell growth signals. The discovery is an important step towards developing new ...

Latest Headlines

updated 6:50pm EST

Frog Populations Once Decimated by Disease Mount a Major Comeback

Nov. 14, 2024 — Thanks to the consistent and focused efforts of researchers and conservationists to save, then reintroduce, mountain yellow-legged frogs to lakes in Yosemite National Park, their populations are ...

How Gophers Brought Mount St. Helens Back to Life in One Day

Nov. 6, 2024 — When Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980, lava incinerated anything living for miles around. As an experiment, scientists dropped gophers onto parts of the scorched mountain for only 24 hours. The ...

Researchers Enhance Screening Methods to Prevent Spread of Drug-Resistant Fungal Infections in Hospitals

Nov. 1, 2024 — Expanded protocols promote early detection in high-risk patients and prevent hospital outbreaks of Candida ...

Saving the Bats: Researchers Find Bacteria, Fungi on Bat Wings That Could Help Fight Deadly White-Nose Syndrome

Oct. 23, 2024 — Bacteria and fungi from the wings of bats could play a significant role in saving them from white-nose syndrome (WNS), a fungal disease affecting the ...

Scientists Discover How Fungi Interact With Soil Actinomycetes

Oct. 22, 2024 — In a recent study, researchers investigated the interactions between Pyricularia oryzae, the rice blast fungus, and the beneficial soil bacterium Streptomyces griseus. They found that P. oryzae ...

Soil's Secret Language: Researchers Decode Plant-to-Fungi Communication

Oct. 17, 2024 — Researchers have cracked the code of plant-to-fungi communication in a new study. Using baker's yeast, the researchers discovered that the plant hormone strigolactone (SL) activates fungal genes and ...

A Mushroom for Colorectal Cancer Therapy

Oct. 17, 2024 — Novel chemical compounds from a fungus could provide new perspectives for treating colorectal cancer, one of the most common and deadliest cancers worldwide. Researchers have reported on the ...

Do Fungi Recognize Shapes?

Oct. 9, 2024 — Fungi don't have eyes or a brain, but their intelligent behaviors may surprise you. New research suggests that fungi may be able to recognize ...

Ant Agriculture Began 66 Million Years Ago in the Aftermath of the Asteroid That Doomed the Dinosaurs

Oct. 3, 2024 — According to a new study, colonies of ants began farming fungi when an asteroid struck Earth 66 million years ago. This asteroid impact caused a ...

How a Bacterium Becomes a Permanent Resident in a Fungus

Oct. 2, 2024 — An organism as a tenant in another -- in biology, this often works quite well. Researchers have now shed light on how such a partnership of a cell in a cell can establish ...

Bacteria Involved in Gum Disease Linked to Increased Risk of Head and Neck Cancer

Sep. 26, 2024 — More than a dozen bacterial species among the hundreds that live in people's mouths have been linked to a collective 50% increased chance of developing head and neck squamous cell carcinoma ...

Measuring How Much Wood a Wood Shuck Shucks With All-New Wood Shuck Food

Sep. 18, 2024 — Researchers want to transform the natural and abundant resource wood into useful materials, and central to that is a molecular machine found in fungi that decomposes the complex raw material into its ...

Ignore Antifungal Resistance in Fungal Disease at Your Peril, Warn Top Scientists

Sep. 13, 2024 — Without immediate action, humanity will potentially face further escalation in resistance in fungal disease, a group of scientists from the around the world has warned. According to the scientists ...

Tailored Microbe Communities

Sep. 12, 2024 — How can computer models help design microbial communities? Researchers examined the development perspectives of so-called synthetic biology. In a new article, they explain why computer-aided biology ...

Microorganisms Can Travel Long Distances in the Troposphere

Sep. 11, 2024 — Analysis of air samples taken at altitudes of up to 3,000 meters above Japan has revealed the presence of a vast range of viable bacteria and fungi transported by air masses originating more than ...

Dangerous Airborne Fungus Boosted by California Droughts

Sep. 3, 2024 — Researchers have identified the seasonal and climate-based cycles of Valley fever, an emerging but dangerous fungal disease spread through dust in the ...

Fungus-Controlled Robots Tap Into the Unique Power of Nature

Sep. 4, 2024 — In creating a pair of new robots, researchers cultivated an unlikely component, one found on the forest floor: fungal mycelia. By harnessing mycelia's innate electrical signals, the researchers ...

Agricultural Impact of Flooding

Aug. 29, 2024 — Entomology professor Esther Ngumbi studies how flooding affects crop plants and the insects that feed on them. She argues in a new review that flooding is a largely overlooked factor in studies meant ...

Can Fungi Turn Food Waste Into the Next Culinary Sensation?

Aug. 29, 2024 — Fungi can transform plant and animal products into delicious foods like cheese, miso and beer. A researcher argues that a type of filamentous mold -- Neurospora intermedia -- could also turn food ...

Study Finds Salamanders Are Surprisingly Abundant in Northeastern Forests

Aug. 26, 2024 — Two recent amphibian-focused studies shed light on the ecological importance of red-backed salamanders, while confirming that proactive measures would prevent costly impacts from a wildlife disease ...

Pilot Study Uses Recycled Glass to Grow Plants for Salsa Ingredients

Aug. 21, 2024 — Tortilla chips and fresh salsa are tasty, but they could be even more appealing if you grow the ingredients yourself. Now, researchers report that some salsa ingredients -- cilantro, bell pepper and ...

Researchers Help to Control Cancer-Causing Poison in Corn

Aug. 15, 2024 — Researchers have demonstrated a promising sterilization technique that uses X-ray irradiation to reduce Aspergillus flavus viability in contaminated corn. This method achieves sterilization without ...

Glossy Black-Cockatoos Prefer the Fruits of Ancient Rocks

Aug. 9, 2024 — New research has shown that glossy black-cockatoos prefer to feed from trees growing in acidic ...

Pioneering the Cellular Frontier

July 23, 2024 — Scientists use a multimodal approach that combines hard X-ray computed tomography and X-ray fluorescence imaging to see the structure and chemical processes inside of a single ...

Genome Study Informs Restoration of American Chestnut Tree

July 22, 2024 — Researchers use genomes to help restore the American chestnut population and adjust species breeding to the changing ...

Small Animals Acquire Genes from Bacteria That Can Produce Antibiotics

July 18, 2024 — A group of small, freshwater animals (bdelloid rotifers) protect themselves from infections using antibiotic recipes 'stolen' from bacteria, according to new research. This raises the ...

Cracking Open a Tasty Menu for Captive Marsupials to Sink Their Teeth Into

July 12, 2024 — From sifting through topsoil for native truffles to cracking open hard shells of seeds and nuts to munch on the tasty kernels, Australia bettongs and potoroos are described as 'ecosystem ...

A Stealth Fungus Has Decimated North American Bats but Scientists May Be a Step Closer to Treating White-Nose Syndrome

July 11, 2024 — An invasive fungus that colonizes the skin of hibernating bats with deadly consequences is a stealthy invader that uses multiple strategies to slip into the small mammals' skin cells and quietly ...

Mapping the World's Fungi from Air Samples

July 11, 2024 — Researchers have found that the key to a quick and cost-effective mapping of biodiversity has been right in front of our eyes all along, but at the same time invisible -- i.e., in the air that ...

Retreating Glaciers: Fungi Enhance Carbon Storage in Young Arctic Soils

July 3, 2024 — Melting Arctic glaciers are in rapid recession, and microscopic pioneers colonize the new exposed landscapes. Researchers revealed that yeasts play an important role in soil formation in the ...