facts

Fungus Facts   Fungus Facts ·   The oldest fossil fungi are at least 545 million years old. These microscopic, aquatic forms were found in northern Russia. ·   According to archaeologists, people have been enjoying the products of fungal fermentation—wine and beer—for at least 25,000 years.   ·  Ever seen a mushroom glow in the dark? You're not imagining it. Several Nova Scotia species, such as the Honey Mushroom, produce light by a chemical reaction called bioluminescence . People once used glowing pieces of fungus-infested wood to light their way in the woods. Foxfire is due to the luminescent mycelia of other fungi.  <span style="color: #548dd4; font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-themetint: 153;"> ·<span style="font-size: 7pt; color: #548dd4; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;"> <span style="color: #548dd4; font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-themetint: 153;"> Fungi use antibiotics to fend off other microorganisms that compete with them for food. <span style="color: #548dd4; font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themetint: 153;"> <span style="color: #548dd4; font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-themetint: 153;"> ·<span style="font-size: 7pt; color: #548dd4; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;"> <span style="color: #548dd4; font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-themetint: 153;"> The first hard evidence that diseases are caused by germs was provided when a fungus, //<span style="font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">Beauveria bassiana //, was found to be killing silkworms in Europe in the early 1800s. <span style="color: #548dd4; font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themetint: 153;"> <span style="color: #548dd4; font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-themetint: 153;"> ·<span style="font-size: 7pt; color: #548dd4; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;"> <span style="color: #548dd4; font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-themetint: 153;"> Throughout history people have used various mouldy concoctions to heal disease. Species of //<span style="font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">Penicillium // were almost certainly the active ingredient. <span style="color: #548dd4; font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themetint: 153;"> <span style="color: #548dd4; font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-themetint: 153;"> ·<span style="font-size: 7pt; color: #548dd4; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;"> <span style="color: #548dd4; font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-themetint: 153;"> If the scientists who developed penicillin had tested it on guinea pigs instead of mice, they might have given up their quest. Penicillin is toxic to guinea pigs and would have killed them. <span style="color: #548dd4; font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themetint: 153;"> <span style="color: #548dd4; font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-themetint: 153;"> ·<span style="font-size: 7pt; color: #548dd4; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;"> <span style="color: #548dd4; font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-themetint: 153;"> The bracket fungus //<span style="font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">Ganoderma lucidum // has been used in Chinese medicine for about 4,500 years. It is said to promote long life. <span style="color: #548dd4; font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themetint: 153;"> <span style="color: #548dd4; font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-themetint: 153;"> ·<span style="font-size: 7pt; color: #548dd4; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;"> <span style="color: #548dd4; font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-themetint: 153;"> In 1993, Chinese women athletes set a number of new world track records. Their success was partly attributed to a tonic prepared from the fruiting bodies of a fungus that invades moth caterpillars. <span style="color: #548dd4; font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themetint: 153;"> <span style="color: #548dd4; font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-themetint: 153;"> ·<span style="font-size: 7pt; color: #548dd4; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;"> <span style="color: #548dd4; font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-themetint: 153;"> When other decomposers such as bacteria shut down for the winter, fungi remain active. Their metabolic processes generate heat. Some moulds carry on growing at temperatures as low as -7 degrees C. This of course is why even refrigerated bread turns furry eventually. We need to freeze foods at temperatures of -18 degrees C or less to preserve them from fungal decay. <span style="color: #548dd4; font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themetint: 153;"> <span style="color: #548dd4; font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-themetint: 153;"> ·<span style="font-size: 7pt; color: #548dd4; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;"> <span style="color: #548dd4; font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-themetint: 153;"> Spontaneous combustion! Moulds and bacteria growing together in sawdust can generate so much heat the sawdust catches fire. <span style="color: #548dd4; font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themetint: 153;"> <span style="color: #548dd4; font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-themetint: 153;">
 * Footnote: the fungal disease, athlete's foot only spread outside the tropics when international travel became commonplace about 100 years ago. <span style="color: #548dd4; font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;">

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