Fungi: mycelia, mushrooms & more

Narrated by Björk & Merlin Sheldrake

Fungi are eukaryotic organisms that have fascinated mankind for a long time with their potential as a medicine, but they also play an important role in our lives as edible mushrooms in gastronomy or as pathogens. Not to mention, mycelium is already being used as a 3D printing material, for example for printing loudspeakers or tiles. These microorganisms are therefore versatile, and researchers at Empa have now discovered new capabilities of fungi: as electricity generators. These 3D printed fungal batteries could be a significant step towards a sustainable power supply! (...)

Swiss artists discovered glowing mushrooms in Zurich forests, identifying a new bioluminescent species, Mycena crocata.

The soil fungus Mortierella alpina has the potential to make agriculture greener and more sustainable: The fungus produces bioactive molecules called malpinins, which could protect plants from destructive worms. A research team from Jena has now been able to understand and describe their mode of action for the first time. The study was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

A battery that needs feeding instead of charging? This is exactly what researchers have achieved with their 3D-printed, biodegradable fungal battery. The living battery could supply power to sensors for agriculture or research in remote regions. Once the work is done, it digests itself from the inside.

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These tiny organisms matter. They have been used to map dark matter and improve transport networks, and they’re living all around us, says author Lucy Jones

Slime moulds, or myxomycetes, spend part of their life cycle as what are known as fruiting bodies – which look a bit like tiny mushrooms, hence why they were once classified as fungi (they’re actually in the kingdom Protista). Often you will find them, at this stage, in a colony – or, well, I’d suggest galaxy, sweetshop or funfair would be more accurate for a collective noun.

Mysteriously, they are single-celled, with no brain or nervous system, and yet they can solve problems such as mazes; they can decide, anticipate, learn and “teach” younger slime moulds.

Despite being known to science for over a century thanks to a few early pioneering marine mycologists, most people have never heard of marine fungi.

Marine fungi, comprising 5% of ocean biomass, are largely invisible but crucial for marine ecosystems.

Candy caps (Lactatius rubidus) are fruiting abundantly on the Northern California coast right now. My family and I picked about 2 pounds today. For those unfamiliar, these mushrooms develop a strong maple flavor and odor when dried.

I’ve never had so many before, so I’m interested if anyone has made anything interesting with these. I’ve made ice cream in the past which was excellent but it might be good to mix things up a bit.

I’m particularly interested to see how they would work in more savory dishes and if anyone has eaten them fresh. Is it worth doing or do they need to be dried to be appreciated properly?

Initial attempts at biodegradable electronics failed to match even basic requirements. Plant-based materials warped under heat. Bio-plastics couldn't achieve the necessary electrical properties. Natural fibers proved too rough and irregular for precise circuit patterns. Each alternative solved one challenge while falling short on others, leading many to conclude that environmental sustainability would require compromising performance.

A research team at Johannes Kepler University in Linz, Austria, has now disproven this assumption by transforming fungal tissue into circuit boards that match conventional materials in performance while decomposing completely after use. Their approach targets the fundamental properties of the material rather than trying to replicate traditional manufacturing processes.

The findings are published in Advanced Materials ("Advanced Mycelium Skins for Sustainable Electronics").

Learn the essentials of pasteurizing mushroom substrate for optimal growth, including methods, tips, and common mistakes to avoid.

"By growing mycelium into the electronics of a robot, we were able to allow the biohybrid machine to sense and respond to the environment," said senior researcher Rob Shepherd, a materials scientist at Cornell, when the research was published in August.

Fungi transplant aims to restore soil species crucial for healthy tree growth

Chaga is one of a host of popular health-promoting fungi species, but is certainly one of the most researched.

Researchers have increasingly recognized how essential fungi are to sequestering carbon in the soil and some have come to appreciate the outsized role they play in supporting crop health, mitigating climate change, and even sheltering crops from disease. As fungi's vast benefits come to light, more farmers are tapping into this vital network, learning how to work with beneficial fungi to encourage its growth in the soil, swapping tilling for microscopes.

Mycorrhizal fungi, which encompass thousands of species, can form large, underground networks, connected by branching filaments called hyphae, threading through the soil in every direction. One type of this fungi, known as arbuscular mycorrhizal, attaches directly to the cell membranes of a plant's root, facilitating a smooth delivery. Other microbes in the soil, like protozoa and nematodes, participate in this cycling, too, digesting fungi and bacteria to release their nutrients in a more available form to plants.

The field of mycology focuses on the study of fungi. It is currently undergoing a transformation. New trends and technologies are reshaping our understanding and interaction with this topic. Let’s take a glimpse into what lies ahead for the future of mycology.

Berlin-headquartered ProteinDistillery broke ground on its Protein Competence Center last week, which will produce Prew:tein, a yeast-based protein that can enhance the functional properties of meat and dairy alternatives, and act as an egg white replacement in several applications, including baked goods.

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