StarTalk Radio Cosmic Queries - The Fungus Among Us with Merlin Sheldrake
Jul 27, 2021
Join ecologist Merlin Sheldrake, author of 'Entangled Life', as he takes you on a wild trip through the fascinating world of fungi. Discover how mushrooms can manipulate insects and even interconnect vast ecosystems through mycelium networks. They explore the potential of dormant spores surviving in space and the psychedelic properties of certain fungi. With humor, they touch on the idea of fungi as 'overlords' of humanity and probe into their role in mental health and climate change, all while connecting fungi to the cosmic tapestry of life.
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Mushrooms Are The Fruiting Bodies
- Fungi form their main bodies as branching mycelial networks hidden in substrates.
- Mushrooms are only the reproductive fruiting bodies produced by a minority of fungal species.
Fungi Are Closer To Animals
- Fungi are evolutionarily closer to animals than to green plants.
- They act as heterotrophs, obtaining nutrients by digesting organic matter rather than photosynthesizing.
Spores Fill The Sky And Seed Rain
- Earth releases vast amounts of fungal spores into the atmosphere yearly.
- Merlin Sheldrake says 50 million tons of spores can help nucleate clouds and rain.
