Strange Fungal Tales

Photo of Slime Mold on Wood

Smart Slime Mold Confusing Scientists

October 20, 2019/in Strange Fungal Tales /by Carolyn Willbanks

Slime Molds have no brain, but are Smart!

Flexible Partnership (Fungi + Algae) Allows Lichens to Occur in Different Habitats

July 9, 2019/in Strange Fungal Tales /by Carolyn Willbanks

Lichens are symbiotic organisms consisting of a fungal partner and one or several algal partners. The association is so close that scientists until 1867 were not aware that lichens actually consist of two different partners. After the Swiss botanist Simon Schwendener discovered the dual nature of lichens, lichenologists were focusing on the fungal partner when […]

Fungi/Molds Survive at 33,000 Feet in the Air

July 9, 2019/in Strange Fungal Tales /by Carolyn Willbanks

In June 2013, Popular Science Magazine published an article called ‘Bacteria at 33,000 Feet: Great, now what? In the midst of airborne sea salt and dust, researchers from Georgia Tech unexpectedly found thousands of living fungal cells and bacteria, including E. coli and Streptococcus. More recently, NASA reports that astronauts are just beginning to learn […]

Food for Thought: Celebrating a McDonald’s Hamburger that has Lasted 10 Years

July 9, 2019/in Strange Fungal Tales /by Carolyn Willbanks

Read this interesting article in the South Bend Tribune, written by Marshall V. King, a food writer based in Goshen, IN. As an experiment, he kept a McDonald’s plain hamburger for 10 years, and it never molded.

Aurora Woman Finds Mushroom Growing out of Shower

July 9, 2019/in Strange Fungal Tales /by Carolyn Willbanks

JULY 7, 2019, BY ALEX ROSE, Fox 31 Denver AURORA, Colo. — About six months ago, Jacqueline Martinez moved into her first apartment with her daughter at the Courtyards at Buckley in Aurora. It wasn’t until a couple days ago that she noticed an unwanted visitor growing in her child’s bathroom: a mushroom.

Is This Fungus Using a Virus to Control an Animal’s Mind?

June 21, 2019/in Strange Fungal Tales /by Carolyn Willbanks

A Strange Fungal Tale by Ed Yong A fruit fly stuck to a dowel, thanks to the parasitic fungus inside it. The story of the misplaced virus — a discovery that Michael Eisen describes as one of the wackiest of his career — began with some plates of fruit. In the summer of 2015, Carolyn […]

slime mold growing in a zoo

Art Inspired by Slime Mold-Like Robots

May 2, 2019/in Strange Fungal Tales /by Carolyn Willbanks

Sometimes individuals transform when they work together. One example is single-celled slime mold, which takes on entirely new behaviors as a collective. Another example is a scientist and an artist collaborating on a museum event, combining their respective tendencies toward the fundamental and the abstract. “I have trained my brain to think a certain way. […]

Snow mold on grass

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Snow Mold Showing Up in Yards Wreaking Havoc

March 28, 2019/in Strange Fungal Tales /by Carolyn Willbanks

by Austin Arvay, Discover Weyburn.com It’s that time of year again where some are constantly sneezing, blowing their nose and dealing with itchy eyes. If that happens to be you, you may not be alone. Although the true allergy season isn’t until later on in the spring, snow mold is one thing that can irritate […]

Photo of mushrooms covering the roots of a tree

The World’s Largest Living Organism – a Mushroom!

February 13, 2019/in Strange Fungal Tales /by Carolyn Willbanks

It’s bigger than an elephant, bigger than a blue whale, the largest organism on earth may not be what you expect. Introducing the biggest mushroom in the world, armillaria ostoyae or as it’s been fondly nicknamed the Humongous Fungus. Covering 2,385 acres of Malheur National Forest, Oregon, it’s our largest organism, and from the way […]

Toxic Trivia

October 3, 2004/in Strange Fungal Tales /by Carolyn Willbanks

Q. What do the Mad Hatter, “Stachy Wacky” and the Salem Witch Trials Have in Common? A. All were created by toxins/molds 1. “Mad as a Hatter” refers to someone who is behaving in an irrational way. The origins of the term come from 19th Century England. Hat makers used felt and the skins of […]

Scientists Solve Toxic Grass Mystery

October 3, 2004/in Strange Fungal Tales /by Carolyn Willbanks

It took decades of effort but scientists finally solved the mystery of why some cattle and horses grazing on a popular feed grass were losing foals and falling ill, and found a way to solve the problem while keeping the hardy nature of the grass. Tall fescue is a grass grown widely in the United […]

Fungus Threatens To Croak New Zealand Frogs

October 3, 2004/in Strange Fungal Tales /by Carolyn Willbanks

WELLINGTON, New Zealand – A toxic fungus blamed for decimating amphibian populations around the world has been found in New Zealand, prompting fears that the country’s four unique frog species could be wiped out. Six months ago the native Archey’s frog population was found infected with the chytrid fungus, believed to be responsible for a […]

Space Fungus: A Menace To Orbital Habitats

October 3, 2004/in Strange Fungal Tales /by Carolyn Willbanks

Now that the Zvezda service module has docked and the International Space Station will soon be habitable, a growing number of cosmonauts and astronauts could soon face a new threat — space fungus. During a recent mission, Mir crew members noticed that the view from the station’s porthole was deteriorating due to an unknown film […]

King Tut’s Curse

October 3, 2004/in Strange Fungal Tales /by Carolyn Willbanks

Strange things happened to the many of the scientists who entered King Tuts tomb in the 1920s- 24 of them even died mysteriously. Finally the mystery of the curse is unraveled. It is the year 1922 and a wealthy Englishman stands at the entrance to an ancient tomb in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings. He […]

Honey Mushrooms Infects and Kills Trees

October 3, 2004/in Strange Fungal Tales /by Carolyn Willbanks

Summary Honey mushrooms (Armillaria) are fruiting at the base of an infected tree in the Blue Mountains of Oregon. Seen in the fall, mushrooms are the only part of the fungi that shows above ground. Most of the organism grows underground. Oregon State University announces that a fungus called Honey Mushroom has spread through Malheu […]

General Motors Faces North Carolina Mold Suit

October 3, 2004/in Strange Fungal Tales /by Carolyn Willbanks

BOONE, N.C. – A North Carolina motorist has sued General Motors Corp., alleging that his sport utility vehicle (SUV) was contaminated with toxic mold, causing mold and yeast to grow inside of his sinus cavities, Mealey Publications report on Mold litigation reported today (Timothy E. Greene, et al. v. General Motors Corp., et al., No. […]

Fungi Help Combat Honeybee Killer

October 3, 2004/in Strange Fungal Tales /by Carolyn Willbanks

UK – Fungi could soon be helping beekeepers control a parasitic Varroa mite that before now has killed up to 70% of honeybee colonies. Research shows that the fungi can kill Varroa just as effectively as the chemicals currently used to keep populations of the parasite manageable. The fungi could prove key to protecting hives […]

Fungus Catches Radioactive Fallout

October 3, 2004/in Strange Fungal Tales /by Carolyn Willbanks

Understanding how mushrooms mop up radioactive waste suggests clean-up strategies. Edible mushrooms can mop up radioactive pollution because one of their pigments captures elements such as caesium, say chemists in France. Radioactive caesium is a large component of waste. The insight could lead to new ways of cleaning up contaminated soils to prevent pollutants getting […]

Active Fungus May Affect Global Warming – Study

October 3, 2004/in Strange Fungal Tales /by Contributor

WASHINGTON – Tiny fungi that live under the Rocky Mountain snowpack get busy reproducing in the winter and may affect global warming, U.S. scientists said yesterday. They said they found a winter wonderland of fungal species, including many new to science, under the snow of a high-altitude Colorado meadow. Unlike most life, which hibernates or […]