fungus

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Want to Save Babies? Protect Bats
In Bat Die-Off, Human
Infants Also Paid the Price
NEW STUDY
Sep 7, 2024 8:00 AM CDT

In Bat Die-Off, Human Infants Also Paid the Price

New research shows that when bats died of fungal disease, infants also died, possibly due to pesticide

(Newser) - When a deadly fungal disease from Europe spread to bats in the United States, killing off colonies of the creatures, one scientist wanted to see what such a bat die-off would mean in other ways. What the University of Chicago's Eyal Frank found: that in counties where infected bats...

Our Favorite Stinky Cheeses Are in Some Trouble

Cloning the same strain of fungus for decades makes cheese uniform, but not sustainable

(Newser) - In news that could upend cheese plates everywhere, some of the stinkiest offerings we love to indulge in are in danger from more than just getting in our bellies. Vox has the scoop on what it calls the "Camembert calamity," and it all boils down to fungi. To...

Extremely Rare 'Devil's Cigar' Mushroom Spotted in Texas

It makes a hissing noise before releasing cloud of spores

(Newser) - An extremely rare hissing mushroom known as the Texas star or the "devil's cigar" has been spotted in a Texas state park. Inks Lake State Park, around 60 miles west of Austin, said in a Facebook post that visitors hoping to see the fungus should ask at headquarters....

Gruesome 'Valley Fever' Is Spreading in US West

Cases of flesh-eating fungus that grows in the dirt are rising amid warming temperatures

(Newser) - Extreme heat, flooding, and all manner of severe weather are strongly linked to climate change, but a new threat would like to enter the chat, and as a fair warning, it's pretty gruesome. Scientists warn that coccidioides, a fungus that causes an ailment known as Valley Fever , is spreading...

Fungal Attacks Could Imperil Food Supply, Researchers Warn

Rising temperatures are exacerbating the problem

(Newser) - Fungal disease is likely to become a greater global danger, especially to the food supply, say researchers who caution that inaction could result in a health catastrophe. Researchers issued an urgent warning about fungi, which destroy more crops than any other cause, in an article published Tuesday in Nature . They...

Fungal Infection Kills Plant Worker in Michigan

Dozens more are sickened at paper mill

(Newser) - A contract worker at a northern Michigan paper mill has died from a fungal infection that has forced the business to temporarily close for deep cleaning. The death was announced Friday by public health officials in Delta and Menominee counties, who said the worker died as a result of blastomycosis...

Nasty Plant Fungus Jumps to Human in a First

Indian man fully recovered after silver leaf infection, which is not fully understood

(Newser) - Chondrostereum purpureum is a killer in the world of plants. Better known as silver leaf, the fungus infects woody brush, turning leaves silver as it separates their layers, and is a particular pain for rose growers. It also became a major pain for an Indian man, who's become the...

CDC: 'Killer Fungus' Spreading at 'Alarming Rate'
CDC: 'Killer Fungus'
Spreading at 'Alarming Rate'
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Mar 25, 2023 4:05 PM CDT

CDC: 'Killer Fungus' Spreading at 'Alarming Rate'

The yeast Candida auris is now in more than half of the nation's states, scientists say

(Newser) - More than six years ago, news of a newly discovered drug-resistant "killer fungus" started making the rounds in the US, and scientists hoped to "contain and stop the spread" of it. Now, a concerning development, as the CDC notes that the possibly fatal fungus has been charging through...

Keanu Reeves, Fungus-Fighting Machine?

Scientists name chemical compounds that fight fungal infections after the butt-kicking actor

(Newser) - The cordyceps fighters in The Last of Us could definitely use some Keanu Reeves—not the tough heroes he plays in The Matrix, Speed, or John Wick, but a trio of fungus-killing chemical compounds that have now been named after the actor. Per CNN , a study was published earlier this...

Jack Daniel's Blamed for Fungus Coating Tennessee County

Barrelhouse construction halted over lack of permits in Lincoln County

(Newser) - Construction on a Jack Daniel's whiskey barrel warehouse in Tennessee has been halted after a woman complained about an ugly fungus coating her property, which neighbors six other Jack Daniel's barrelhouses. The crusty black stuff is whiskey fungus, or Baudoinia compniacensis, which can grow on a variety of...

Last of Us Zombie Fungus Is Real, Just Not for Humans
Last of Us Zombie Fungus
Is Real, Just Not for Humans
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Feb 4, 2023 6:30 AM CST

Last of Us Zombie Fungus Is Real, Just Not for Humans

Ants and other insects are indeed susceptible to a gruesome fate

(Newser) - The premise of the popular HBO series The Last of Us—based on a video game of the same name—is that humans get infected by a fungus that turns them into zombies. The good news, of course, is that no such fungus exists, notes NPR . The bad news is...

These 19 Fungi Are a Major Risk to Human Health

World Health Organization releases its first list of these 'priority pathogens'

(Newser) - The World Health Organization already has lists of the viruses and bacteria that pose the greatest risk to human health. Now, a new list from the UN agency, this one dedicated to threatening fungi. Reuters reports the 19 fungi on the WHO's radar—including Candida auris, which the CDC...

You May Have Drug-Resistant Fungus in Your Lungs

Aspergillus is only problematic for some people, but it's growing increasingly drug resistant

(Newser) - "You live on Earth and breathe, you’re going to get Aspergillus in your lungs," a professor of medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham tells NBC News . On its face, that's not concerning: Most of us inhale the fungus, whose spores are found in dirt...

First Cases of Superbug Fungus Detected in Louisiana

'I equate it to the tip of the iceberg,' doctor says of Candida auris find

(Newser) - A hospital in New Orleans says it has identified two patients infected with a rare, drug-resistant fungus—the first time it's been found in Louisiana. Candida auris has already been found in Washington, DC, and at least 20 other states including Georgia, Florida, and Texas, according to the Centers...

Superbug Fungus Spreading in 2 US Cities

CDC says drug-resistant 'Candida auris' is moving from person to person in Dallas and DC

(Newser) - US health officials said Thursday they now have evidence of an untreatable fungus spreading in two hospitals and a nursing home, per the AP . The "superbug" outbreaks were reported in a Washington, DC, nursing home and at two Dallas-area hospitals, the CDC reported. A handful of the patients had...

Scientists 'Reanimate' Killer Fungus to Save Our Coffee
This Fungus Kills Off Coffee.
Scientists Just Woke It Up
in case you missed it
Jun 6, 2021 7:55 AM CDT

This Fungus Kills Off Coffee. Scientists Just Woke It Up

Researchers wanted to see how Fusarium xylarioides functions to prevent future outbreaks

(Newser) - Enjoy a steaming mug of Arabica or robusta in the morning? Give a high-five, then, to the scientists that have "reanimated" a fungus that kills off those varieties of coffee trees. It may sound counterintuitive, but researchers from Imperial College London have done just that, resurrecting cryogenically frozen samples...

Fungus Takes Over Cicada Brains, Replaces Genitals

Massospora uses amphetamine to turn infected insects 'hypersexual'

(Newser) - Some luckless cicadas are emerging from 17 years underground intent on mating, only to have their brains hijacked and their genitals replaced by a fungus that infects them just before they surface. The Massospora fungus replaces the lower part of the cicada's body with a "white plug of...

Driving Pancreatic Cancer: a 'Fungal Invasion'
Driving Pancreatic
Cancer: a 'Fungal Invasion'
NEW STUDY
Oct 4, 2019 9:54 AM CDT

Driving Pancreatic Cancer: a 'Fungal Invasion'

Scientists say fungi move from gut to pancreas, significantly increase in number, spur tumor growth

(Newser) - An organ once deemed "sterile" may actually be teeming with fungi, and certain varieties there may be promoting cancer. New research in the journal Nature notes that even though it's already known bacteria is able to move from the gut to the pancreas, it wasn't clear whether...

Deadliest Pathogen in History Is Taking a Toll on Frogs

Fungus has wiped out 90 species of amphibians and caused decline in 500 more

(Newser) - Biologist Wendy Palen says "it now earns the moniker of the most deadly pathogen known to science." She's referring to an amphibian fungus responsible for wiping out at least 90 species in recent decades, reports the New York Times . It's called Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis or Bd, and...

By This New Measure, Plants Rule the Earth
By This New Measure,
Plants Rule the Earth
NEW STUDY
May 22, 2018 9:40 AM CDT

By This New Measure, Plants Rule the Earth

They outweigh all other life on the planet, by a mile

(Newser) - A first-of-its-kind study reveals that humans make up a minuscule portion of life on the planet. As in 0.01%, reports the Guardian . The flip side of that? Despite the scant figure, humans have reshaped the animal kingdom, helping wipe out about 83% of mammals and half of all plants...

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