small things
The fungus in my maple syrup
“Last week an uninvited guest showed up for breakfast. As I poured maple syrup over my son’s waffle, Plop! A perfect dime-sized fungus colony spilled out to crown that waffle like a malevolent pat of butter.” Meet Wallemia sebi!
Mystery liverwort fungus, chapter 5
FAM is still trying to figure out what to call his liverwort fungus. Taxonomy is surprisingly hard sometimes. And just when you think you’re onto something, you find another can of worms. This one’s called Microxiphium.
When strawberries go bad
What could be better than succulent fruit, rotting in time lapse? And doesn’t everyone want to know more about the fungi that rot strawberries? These are rhetorical questions.
Mystery liverwort fungus, chapter 4
The Friday Afternoon Mycology and Molecule Man are closing in on the identity of the liverwort fungus. In this episode we relate the results of PCR, question the eating habits of organ transplant patients, and finish up by chanting the DNA sequences aloud. But where has it gotten us?
Protein synthesis in 1971
Hippies, protein synthesis, and Lewis Carroll, mixed together like some weird Jell-O mold. Too fascinating to look away.
Mystery liverwort fungus, chapter 3
What could it be, this liverwort thing? Has anyone ever seen this before? FAM pursues the fungus through the musty dusty literature and the well-stocked but torturous passageways of his own brain. Finally, the magical powers of Santa Claus are invoked.
The Insect-Fungus War: Behavioral Fever
Fungi, heat, and height all figure into an insect phenomenon called behavioral fever.
Pilobolus and the lungworm
Pilobolus is interesting enough all by itself, because it can shoot a big black bullet. We’d also like to introduce you to the lungworm. The lungworm takes an unusual route to get back into a cow. It travels through snot, dung, and–most surprisingly–by fungus.