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Fungi are miraculous. They provide us with food, alcohol, medicine, and the essential decomposition that keeps life going. And yet, their potential may be far greater. Fungi can be made into computer chips, bio-batteries, circuit boards, insulation, self-repairing building materials, and reactive clothing. They can even devour plastic, absorb heavy metals, and clean pollution. Make no mistake: the future is fungal.

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Scientists in Alaska are working to develop a sustainable and affordable fungus-based solution for insulation.

“Now you are basically wrapping your house in the plastic bag. It doesn’t breathe,”

Amstislavski co-founded an eco-engineering research project that has developed a new kind of insulation using local wood pulp and a native fungus.

See: Calcifying plankton: From biomineralization to global change

Scientists have uncovered that mushrooms evolved the ability to make psilocybin not once but twice, using completely different biochemical toolkits.

This rare case of convergent evolution shows nature arriving at the same mind-altering molecule by two separate paths. The true reason fungi produce psilocybin remains unsolved, but theories range from predator defense to chemical communication. Beyond evolutionary intrigue, the discovery also offers new enzyme tools that could help produce psilocybin more efficiently for future medicines.

#fungi #mushrooms #psilocybin