Harvard has released a (poorly digitized and barely navigable but nonetheless fascinating) collection of rare mushroom illustrations. Pair with the stunning Natural Histories, exploring the history of scientific illustration.
“Nice fruiting body. Mycelium or yours?”
Wait, what do YOU think they look like? I’m talkin’ about fungi. Get your mind out of the gutter, folks :)
(via scientificillustration)
If you’ve ever flirted with the idea that you’d like to be a field biologist one day, cataloguing the grandeur of the world’s species from right there in their natural habitats, using your knowledge to preserve the diversity of Earth’s ecosystems … might I suggest you follow Evopropinquitous’ Things I Learned As A Field Biologist?
Here’s a little lesson on staying dry, and the fungal effects of failing to do so:
When your feet start to bleed - and boy, will they ever - don’t panic. The hole that appears to be eating its way into the space between your 4th and 5th toes on your right foot won’t go any deeper than a full centimeter (you know this because you stuck your finger inside of it and then measured the extent of the bloody seepage on your pinkie finger… the hole is that wide and deep).
I think I’ll stay in the lab for the time being, thanks.
You’re looking at a time-lapse of Physarum polycephalum, a slime mold, chasing down its dinner (oats). It’s a protist with many nuclei, but one single, huge cytoplasm. Slime molds are known for their ability to branch out in almost fractal patterns, tasting and testing their environment via rhythmic plasmodia. This slime mold grows in such unique patterns that it has been used to model man-made networks in living systems. It was able to design a nearly exact copy of the Tokyo rail system just by growing between food sources.
Cornell University has an entire video gallery of these time-lapses, featuring everything from moldy fruit and Homer Simpson growing hair to a dung fungus that blows its hat off. Oh, and some rather “suggestive” looking mushroom stalks.
Nature, you crazy.
Earlier this week we encountered a rather, um, phallic fungus. I marveled at its unique biological splendor and one-of-a-kind “fruiting body”. I also called it weird.
But that fungus has nothing on the beauty of these colony-growing species, captured in stunning microphotography. Included: Aspergillus fumigatus, and genera Botrytis, Mucor, Trichoderma, and Cladosporium
Fungi are very odd.
One gets the impression that plants, animals, and microbes have been going on their merry way, dividing and reproducing and evolving in ways that make sense to us humans. But fungi, they are like that guy who sits by himself at lunch all the time and wears really odd pants and then one day you find out he’s a world-famous abstract artist with an ether habit. Just completely off the reservation, biology-wise.
Anyone got a favorite mushroom?
Also the above bridal veil stinkhorn picture must be followed by this:
Giant fungus discovered in China
How giant? The fruiting body (similar to a mushroom) found in China measures about 10 meters long, 80 cm wide and weighs half a ton. That picture is of a chunk broken off by the discovery team.
It’s the largest fungal fruiting body ever found.
(via BBC Nature)
Source: BBC
Your dishwasher may be trying to kill you.
Not with a finely honed katana blade, however. Harmful fungi called Exophiala dermatitidis were found on the rubber seals of dishwashers around the world. These fungi are frequently found beating down the lungs of cystic fibrosis sufferers, and their extremophile nature makes them tolerate the high heat and moisture of a the dishwasher environment.
No health risks have been found thus far, but just to be safe you can tell your mom I said you didn’t have to do the dishes tonight. For those of you no longer living with your parents, I’m sorry … and good luck.
Source: news.discovery.com
I just posted an article where I stated there are about 1.5 million species of fungi on Earth. Well, I did that on purpose! Because that number might be close to doubling.
Have you ever met a mycologist? They are absolutely gaga for fungi. They just don’t understand how the rest of the world isn’t just completely fascinated with yeast, mushrooms, lichens, the whole bunch. Well, here’s your day in the sun, mycologists!
If you check out the link above, a team from the UK carefully aligned fungal DNA sequences and discovered what they are calling a totally new branch of fungal life. They call it cryptomycota, which sounds cool and kind of scary. In addition to being built slightly differently, this whole clade of fungo could potentially increase the known number of species in that branch of like by two-fold.
So don’t quote me on the 1.5 million just yet.
There’s about 1.5 million species of fungi on Earth, and only a handful are known to give off light (“bioluminescence”). This mushroom, Mycena luxaterna made the list of top 10 newly discovered species of the past year. Don’t eat it.
via Top 10 new species of 2011 - International Institute for Species Exploration
Source: species.asu.edu
Can fungi help dispose of BPA-containing plastic? Disposal of polycarbonate plastic has been a particular problem of late due to the presence of bisphenol A (BPA) in its ingredient list. BPA is a possible toxin, and disposing of this plastic could release it into the environment.
Scientists in India were able to pretreat the plastic with UV and heat, and then allowed several types of fungi to munch on it. The fungi were able to use the BPA and plastic as food, helping to dispose of them in an eco-friendly way.
Source: eurekalert.org
I'm Joe Hanson, Ph.D. biologist and host/writer of PBS Digital Studios' It's Okay To Be Smart. Check out my "Episode Extras" here. There's a lot of amazing science out there. Let's go discover it together.
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