El Micelio — The Simbiosis Blog

FungiFacts
Mycelium and carbon capture: the invisible accounting under the forest
Why the type of mycorrhizal fungus that dominates a forest determines how much carbon that forest is able to retain underground — and what global science says about it. Read more...
FungiFacts
Mycoprotein: the fungus that became a protein source
How a fungus cultivated in bioreactors since the seventies became a protein source backed by clinical trials. Read more...
FungiFacts
Fungal bioluminescence: the fungi that glow in the dark forest
Only 71 species of fungi glow in the dark. Recent science has deciphered both the biological clock that regulates their light and the complete chemical pathway behind it. Read more...
FungiFacts
Armillaria ostoyae: the largest organism on the planet lives under your feet
The largest individual organism ever documented on Earth is neither an animal nor a plant: it's a fungus that covers nearly 10 square kilometers beneath an Oregon forest. Read more...
FungiFacts
Plastic-eating fungi: degraders of synthetic polymers
From an Amazonian fungus that grows without oxygen on polyurethane to a landfill isolate in Pakistan: the real science behind plastic-degrading fungi. Read more...
FungiFacts
Yeasts and the Fuel of the Future: Microscopic Fungi as Refineries
How genetically modified yeasts convert waste cooking oil into molecules almost identical to aviation fuel. Read more...
FungiFacts
Mycomaterials: when mycelium becomes leather, packaging, and bricks
From vegan leather grown in five days to 3D-printed building blocks: the science behind mycelium-based materials. Read more...
FungiFacts
Wood Wide Web: What Science Really Knows About Mycorrhizal Networks
The mycorrhizal network under the forest is real — but recent science seriously questions the popular myth of the mother tree and tree communication. Read more...
FungiFacts
Ophiocordyceps: the fungus that turns ants into puppets
How Ophiocordyceps unilateralis controls the nervous system of carpenter ants and forces them to bite with surgical precision before dying. Read more...
FungiFacts
Radiotrophy: Fungi That Feed on Radiation
Melanized fungi growing towards the radiation in Chernobyl—and now being cultivated on the International Space Station as a potential radiation shield. Read more...
FungiFacts
FungiFacts #2 — Fungi and the Human Body: 10 Connections You Probably Didn't Know About
Your body hosts dozens of fungal genera. The antibiotics you take come from fungi. The chitin in a mushroom's cell wall is chemically identical to the shell of a crab. And the way your cells make energy has an exact parallel in fungal biochemistry. The second installment of FungiFacts explores the most intimate connection of all: the one between fungi and your body. Read more...
FungiFacts
FungiFacts #1 — 15 mushroom facts that will change the way you see them
90% of land plants cannot survive without fungi. The beer you drink exists thanks to a fungus. The largest living organism in the world is a fungus. And we've only known for 12 years that fungi can talk to each other. These are the 15 facts nobody told you about the kingdom that supports everything. Read more...