Fungi // Current TV

How Mushrooms Can Save the World

Paul Stamets discusses the importance of our fungi relatives.

Progresshiv
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The Fungal Fantastical

The fungal-fantastical. Emerging from their axial homes, fungi are beginning to be... more

Tyrannous
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18 days ago
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12 comments

Symbiogenics to feed a drought stricken world

Higher temperatures and water stress are expected to diminish rice yields by 15% in... more

JanforGore
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7 months ago
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19 comments

Mushrooms line pathway to healthy living

It's a bold statement, but one that award-winning mycologist Paul Stamets stands... more

Tyrannous
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8 months ago
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Mycoremediation of the Japanese landscape after radioactive fallout: Nuclear Forest Recovery Zone by Paul Stamets:

Mycoremediation of the Japanese landscape after radioactive fallout: Nuclear Forest... more

Tyrannous
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11 months ago
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2 comments

Global warming may spur new fungal diseases (MWV37)

Watch Dr. Jeff Fox, Features Editor for Microbe Magazine talk with Arturo Casadevall,... more

csuspect
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1 year ago
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1 comment

Beeline to Extinction: Saving Our Threatened Pollinators Is Key to Global Food Security | | AlterNet

More than a third of U.S. managed honeybee colonies -- those set up for intensified pollination of commercial crops -- failed to survive this past winter.
May 27, 2010 |

This story also appeared on Civil Eats.

According to the recently released annual survey by the Apiary Inspectors of America (AIA) and the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), more than a third of U.S. managed honeybee colonies—those set up for intensified pollination of commercial crops—failed to survive this past winter. Since 2006, the decline of the U.S.’s estimated 2.4 million beehives—commonly referred to as colony collapse disorder (CCD)—has led to the disappearance of hundreds of thousands of colonies: Hives are found empty with honey, larvae, and the queen intact, but with no bees and no trail left behind. The cause remains unknown, but appears to be a combination of factors impacting bee health and increasing their susceptibility to disease. Heavy losses associated with CCD have been found mainly with larger migratory commercial beekeepers, some of whom have lost 50-90 percent of their colonies.

A “keystone” species—one that has a disproportionate effect on the environment relative to its biomass—bees are our key to global food security and a critical part of the food chain. Flowering plants that produce our food depend on insects for pollination. There are other pollinators—butterflies, moths, beetles, flies, and birds—but the honeybee is the most effective, pollinating over 100 commercial crops nationwide, including most fruit, vegetables, and nuts, as well as alfalfa for cattle feed and cotton, with a value estimated between $15-$20 billion annually. As much as one of every three bites of food we eat comes from food pollinated by insects. Without honeybees, our diet would be mostly meatless, consisting of rice and cereals, and we would have no cotton for textiles. The entire ecosystem and the global food economy potentially rests on their wings.

Experts now believe bees are heading for extinction and are racing to pinpoint the culprit, increasingly blaming pesticide usage. U.S. researchers have reported finding 121 different pesticides in samples of bees, wax, and pollen. New parasites, pathogens, fungi, and poor nutrition stemming from intensive farming methods are also part of the equation. Three years ago, U.S. scientists unraveled the genetic code of the honeybee and uncovered the DNA of a virus transmitted by the Varroa mite—Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV)—found in almost all of the hives impacted by CCD. Researchers have also found the fungus Nosema ceranae and other pathogens such as chalkbrood in some affected hives throughout the country. Other reported theories include the effects of shifting spring blooms and earlier nectar flow associated with broader global climate and temperature changes, the effects of feed supplements from genetically modified crops, such as high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), and the effects of cell phone transmissions and radiation from power lines that may be interfering with a bee’s navigational capabilities. (Last year, a study revealed that a contaminant from heat-exposed HFCS might be killing off the bees.) However, according to a recent congressional report on CCD, contributions of these possible factors have not been substantiated.More than a third of U.S. managed honeybee colonies -- those set up for intensified... more

Monkey_Films
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1 year ago
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Meet A Fungi: Matt Foltz Documentary Short

This is my first documentary short I've tried to make. It was very fun to shoot... more

erbroder
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1 year ago
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The most interesting but unusual features of mushrooms

Mushrooms are amazing but bizarre non-flowering plants that spring up overnight. They... more

CHANLEEPENG
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1 year ago
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Aquaponics, hydroponics, aeroponics are the artificial womb for our food.

First of all I want to thank Nettle for posting about aquaponics: "This Emerging... more

lookatmypix
added this
2 years ago
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15 comments

Paul Stamets discovers Squirrels hunting for Truffles

While on a hike Paul Stamets spots a squirrel foraging for fungi, specifically... more

Tyrannous
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2 years ago
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The Life Box: solutions for re-greening the planet

The Life Box™ was invented by Paul Stamets, mycologist, author and founder of... more

Tyrannous
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2 years ago
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Top 10 Legal Ways to Experience the Magic of Mushrooms

There are an estimated 14,000 types of mushrooms - roughly 3,000 are edible, 700 have... more

Tyrannous
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2 years ago
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Saving Agarikon (Fomitopsis officinalis) from an Oregon old growth forest about to be clearcut

Paul Stamets discovers Agarikon while hiking near Breitenbush Hotsprings, Oct. 2008.... more

Tyrannous
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2 years ago
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Check out the New Official Paul Stamets youtube channel!

Direct video from the mycologist Paul Stamets as seen in these current.com posts:... more

Tyrannous
added this
2 years ago
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1 comment

Paul Stamets with Turkey Tail Mushrooms at Fungi Perfecti

Paul Stamets talks about growing the properties of Turkey Tail mushrooms (Trametes... more

Tyrannous
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2 years ago
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Paul Stamets with Laetiporus conifericola Chicken of the Woods

A Great Find from a very important mycologist!

Tyrannous
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2 years ago
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Paul Stamets with Reishi mushrooms in growroom at Fungi Perfecti

Paul Stamets shows Red Reishi Mushrooms, Ganoderma lucidum var. resinaceum growing at... more

Tyrannous
added this
2 years ago
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2 comments

Stinky Feet, Fungi and Airport Security

Don't like taking of your shoes in airports? Well you do not have to anymore!

digitalfever
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2 years ago
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In Mexico, Tar-Like Fungus Considered Delicacy

In Central Mexico, locals are feasting on a unique delicacy that sprouts to life this... more

atomiclegion
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2 years ago
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2 comments

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