Host: Paul Raeburn

Guest: Heather Hallen, PhD

The Death Cap mushroom. The Destroying Angel. Researchers are learning how these lethal mushrooms kill. Today we’re talking about some of the most dangerous and fiendishly clever organisms on earth: poisonous mushrooms. The names alone sound like something out of a B-movie: Deathcap and Destroying Angel. But how do these mushrooms kill? Researchers at Michigan State University who were studying the Death Cap mushroom thought they knew. They were looking for a big gene that produces a certain enzyme—the one that was supposed to do the damage. After years of trying and failing to sort out what was going on, they stumbled on something that was a complete surprise. Learn what they found--and get the latest advice on treating mushroom poisoning.