Mushroom Madness

Posted by Miss Cellania in Everything Else on October 21, 2009 at 9:44 am

Watch slime molds and mushrooms grow in this time-lapse video. I was particularly taken with the Stinkhorn Mushroom, which casts a net! Link

 
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Neatorama Shop » Home & Garden » Ice Trays

Simulating A Stradivarius With Fungus

Posted by John Farrier in Music, Science & Tech on September 25, 2009 at 4:05 pm

Sandeep Ravindran writes in Popular Science that a Swiss violin maker treated a new violin with a unique fungus. The result was that the new violin beat a Stradivarius in a listening test:

A jury of experts, as well as the conference attendees, judged the tone quality of the violins, and the ultimate winner was “Opus 58″ — one of the fungus-infected violins. 90 of the 180 attendees voted for it, with the Stradivarius coming in second with 39 votes. 113 members guessed that “Opus 58″ was actually the Strad.

The wood in “Opus 58″ was treated with a fungus for the longest time: 9 months. Fungal infections are generally thought to damage wood, but results published by Francis Schwarze last year suggested that some types of soft rot fungi reduced the density of the wood, making it lighter and improving its tonal quality, without impairing its firmness. Fungi may thus help artificially replicate the unusually low density of wood that is thought to have occurred in Stradivarius’ time. The “Little Ice Age” that occurred at this time brought about long winters and cool summers in Central Europe, causing trees to grow slowly and uniformly and creating wood with great tonal qualities.

Link

Image: U.S. Department of the Interior

 
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The Time Bomb That Can Wipe Out The World's Wheat Crop

Posted by Alex in Science & Tech on June 14, 2009 at 1:35 pm

It’s not bad enough that soon we’ll run out of bluefin tuna, now scientists are saying that we may also lose wheat. The stem rust fungus could wipe out 80% of the world’s wheat as it spread from Africa.

Enjoy your bread while it lasts! Karen Kaplan of the Los Angeles Times has the story of a "time bomb" for wheat:

Crop scientists fear the Ug99 fungus could wipe out more than 80% of worldwide wheat crops as it spreads from eastern Africa. It has already jumped the Red Sea and traveled as far as Iran. Experts say it is poised to enter the breadbasket of northern India and Pakistan, and the wind will inevitably carry it to Russia, China and even North America — if it doesn’t hitch a ride with people first.

"It’s a time bomb," said Jim Peterson, a professor of wheat breeding and genetics at Oregon State University in Corvallis. "It moves in the air, it can move in clothing on an airplane. We know it’s going to be here. It’s a matter of how long it’s going to take."

Though most Americans have never heard of it, Ug99 — a type of fungus called stem rust because it produces reddish-brown flakes on plant stalks — is the No. 1 threat to the world’s most widely grown crop.

Link

 
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Saving Lascaux Cave

Posted by Queuebot in Arts & Crafts on February 28, 2009 at 12:55 am

A black fungus is spreading across the prehistoric murals in the Lascaux cave in France, and scientists aren’t sure what to do about it.  At the moment, the cave is completely sealed in the hopes that the cave "will heal itself," said Marc Gaulthier, head of the Lascaux Caves International Scientific Committtee.  The fungus problem is exacerbated by rising temperatures that prevent air from circulating inside the caverns, Gaulthier said.

The paintings are estimated to be between 15,000 and 17,500 years old.



Link – via nagonthelake

(image credit: AP/Pierre Andrieu)

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Marilyn Terrell.

 
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Zombie Hand Mushroom

Posted by Alex in Pictures on December 14, 2008 at 1:42 pm

One day, Fendy Sutandio of Orimath blog looked at his garden and found this strange "Zombie Hand" fungus. It does look like a zombie’s hand digging itself out of its grave!

Link – via Cliff Pickover’s Reality Carnival

 
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