Instant Genius

How fungi is vital to life on Earth


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Mention the word 'fungi' and it’s likely many of our minds will turn to the mushrooms we enjoy sliced on the top of our favourite pizza or bowl of pasta. But there’s more to these fascinating organisms than this. Without fungi we’d have no yeast to make bread or brew beer and no penicillin to treat infections.


In this episode, we catch up physician and immunology researcher Arturo Casadevall to talk about his latest book What if Fungi Win?


He tells us about the essential role fungi plays in the ecosystems and lifecycles of the Earth, how they pose a potential threat to our food supplies, the role climate change is playing in the evolution of fungi and the role they may possibly play in combatting it.

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