Lichen The Vibe

Bread Mold: Flesh-Eating Fungi & Steroids


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Discover how common bread mold is both a deadly flesh-eating fungus and the secret to creating life-saving steroid medicines!

In this episode, we dive into the bizarre and terrifying world of the everyday bread mold sitting in your kitchen. We explore its dark side as the culprit behind rare flesh-eating infections, but we also uncover the massive industrial secret of how scientists use this exact same fungi to synthesize vital medical steroids and cortisone treatments. It is a microscopic tale of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde that will change how you look at your pantry forever.

If you loved this deep dive into the weird world of medical mycology, be sure to follow the show and leave us a review!

00:00 - The Dual Life of Common Bread Mold

04:15 - What is Rhizopus?

11:30 - The Danger of Flesh-Eating Fungal Infections

18:45 - How Fungi Synthesize Steroids and Cortisone

25:20 - The Future of Fungal Medicine

bread mold, flesh eating fungus, medical steroids, mucormycosis, cortisone, how bread mold makes steroids, flesh eating fungal infections, medical uses of rhizopus mold, history of cortisone synthesis, deadly household fungi, #Fungi, #MedicalMycology, #SciencePodcast, #Microbiology, #MedicalHistory, #WeirdScience

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