A stalk of the newfound fungus species Ophiocordyceps camponoti-balzani, grows out of a “zombie” ant’s head in a Brazilian rain forest.
Originally thought to be a single species, called Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, the fungus is actually four distinct species—all of which can “mind control” ants—scientists announced last week. (pics)
Continue reading… “Zombie Ants Controlled by Four New Species of Fungi”
Members of a joint United States Army-University of Montana research team that located a virus that is possibly collapsing honeybee colonies.
It has been one of the great murder mysteries of the garden: what is killing off the honeybees?
Since 2006, 20 to 40 percent of the bee colonies in the United States alone have suffered “colony collapse.” Suspected culprits ranged from pesticides to genetically modified food.
Continue reading… “Mystery of the Honeybees Solved”
“The devil’s corn”
This looks like an alien parasite, or maybe an evil brain, but it’s actually a fungus that attacks corn. U.S. farmers call it “corn smut” and have spent millions to eradicate it. But it’s actually better for you than corn.
Continue reading… “‘Corn Smut’ – Revolting Fungus That Could Make You Younger and Healthier”
Fungi have significant potential for “horizontal” gene transfer, a new study has shown, similar to the mechanisms that allow bacteria to evolve so quickly, become resistant to antibiotics and cause other serious problems.
Continue reading… “Fungi Can Change Quickly, Pass Along Infectious Ability”
Food production of modern human societies is mostly based on large-scale monoculture crops, but it now appears that advanced insect societies have the same practice. Our societies took just ten thousand years of (mainly cultural) evolution to adopt this habit and we are far from convinced that it is sustainable. Farming ants and termites had tens of millions of years to evolve their fungus farming systems and here monocultures are apparently evolutionary stable.
Continue reading… “Termites Create Sustainable Monoculture Fungus Farming”
As the climate gets warmer, arid soils lose nitrogen as gas, reports a new Cornell study. That could lead to deserts with even less plant life than they sustain today, say the researchers.
Continue reading… “Nitrogen Loss Threatens Desert Plant Life, Study Shows”
The fact that they eat a lot – and often – may explain why most people and other mammals are protected from the majority of fungal pathogens, according to research from Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University.
Continue reading… “Do Three Meals A Day Keep Fungi Away? Protective Effect Of Being Warm-blooded”
Sometimes to see something properly, you have to stand farther back. This is true of Chuck Close portraits where a patchwork of many small faces changes into one giant face as you back away.
Continue reading… “Frog Fungus Hammering Biodiversity Of Communities”
Researchers from the Open University are laying the groundwork for a new equation that could mathematically quantify a habitat’s potential for hosting life, in a similar way to how the Drake equation estimates the number of intelligent extraterrestrial civilizations in the Milky Way. Continue reading… “New Drake Equation To Quantify Habitability?”
Fungal infections can be deadly as fungus germs have developed resistance to drug treatment. But now researchers have found a way to make drugs more effective in clearing all fungal infections.
Continue reading… “Cure For Drug-Resistant Fungal Infections Found”
The Ug99 fungus, called stem rust, could wipe out more than 80% of the world’s wheat as it spreads from Africa, scientists fear. The race is on to breed resistant plants before it reaches the U.S.
Continue reading… “Race Is On To Stop Fungus That Could Wipe Out 80% Of World’s Wheat”
