Zombie apocalypse or environmental saviours? SITC holds one-off session on the incredible world of fungi
On Wednesday 7 February the SITC will hold a one-off session looking at how the remarkable and diverse properties of fungi can be harnessed to improve human health, tackle environmental and engineering challenges and increase food security.
Meeting details
Fungi – including yeasts, moulds, and mushrooms - are a life form all their own: neither plant, animal nor bacteria, though they are closer to animals than plants. They have unique properties with wide ecological and economic functions, and already some everyday products use fungi or their derivatives.
This one-off session will explore the remarkable potential of the applications of fungi in areas as diverse as reaching Net Zero, reducing plastic and other forms of pollution, as a food source and in improving other food production, and in mental health and medical applications.
The session will also explore some of the risks and drawbacks of fungi, which can cause disease in plants and animals including humans. We know that one fungus, cordyceps, can infect and completely “take over” the life functions of insects like ants. Could they really start the zombie apocalypse as depicted in the video game and TV series The Last of Us?