DailyDirt: Useful Fungus

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Fungus is a fascinating form of life. Mold grows almost anywhere, and it can survive some pretty extreme conditions. However, more often than not, it's considered a nuisance that needs to be killed and removed. Some mushroom-lovers have come up with some ways to make fungus useful for us -- taking advantage of how well mold can grow. Here are just a few examples of fungus that isn't for eating, but still serves us.

• Maybe we can use fungi to clean up dispersed radioactive waste -- Cladosporium sphaerospermum is a species of fungus that thrives in radioactive environments (near Chernobyl, for example). These kinds of fungus could help people collect and concentrate radioactive materials to prevent the spread of toxic radiation. [url]
• Mushroom insulation has similar insulating abilities as foam board insulation, but it can be composted (and made without the direct use of petrochemicals). Mushroom insulation can also have the same fire resistance as conventional materials, but presumably it isn't as toxic. [url]
• One of the often-repeated examples of futuristic engineering is the ability to "grow a house" -- and that possibility could become a reality with fungus growing into pre-determined shapes. The MyceliumChair is a step towards growing furniture with fungus and a 3D printed scaffold. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.

Filed Under: 3d printing, biology, fungus, furniture, insulation, mold, mushrooms, myceliumchair, radioactivity