fungus tagged posts

For the first time, researchers have demonstrated that certain lichen species can survive Mars-like conditions, including exposure to ionizing radiation, while maintaining a metabolically active state.

Published in the journal IMA Fungus, a new study highlights the potential for lichens to survive and function on the Martian surface, challenging previous assumptions about the uninhabitable nature of Mars, and offering insights for astrobiology and space exploration.

Lichens are not a single organism, but a symbiotic association between a fungus and algae and/or cyanobacteria known for their extreme tolerance to harsh environments such as the Earth’s deserts and polar regio...

Turning brewery wastewater into battery power

CU Boulder engineers have developed an innovative bio-manufacturing process that uses a biological organism cultivated in brewery wastewater to create the carbon-based materials needed to make energy storage cells. This unique pairing of breweries and batteries could set up a win-win opportunity by reducing expensive wastewater treatment costs for beer makers while providing manufacturers with a more cost-effective means of creating renewable, naturally-derived fuel cell technologies.

“Breweries use about 7 barrels of water for every barrel of beer produced,” said Tyler Huggins, CU Boulder’s Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering. “And they can’t just dump it into the sewer because it requires extra filtration...

Picture of A. fumigatus growth in solid blood media. White spots in wells show fungal growth while clear wells shows no growth because of SidA inhibition. Credit: Julia S. Martin del Campo

Researchers with the Virginia Tech Center for Drug Discovery have identified a compound that blocks the growth of a fungus that causes deadly lung infections and allergic reactions in people with compromised immune systems. The research team targeted the switch that allows the fungus Aspergillus fumigatus to survive in iron-deficient conditions like the human body. Specifically, they targeted an enzyme known as SidA, which is essential for the synthesis of siderophores that are made during infection to steal iron from human proteins.

Furthermore, by performing high-throughput screening in the center’s Dr...