26Bioluminescent Green Mushroom
The Bonin Islands near Japan are home to a mushroom known as "Green Pepe." It is named after its bioluminescent green glow.
27. There is a species of Amazon fungus that feeds on plastic. It can survive on plastic alone, even without oxygen. It can potentially lead to new techniques for bioremediation.
28. Magic mushrooms create a hyperconnected brain that induces trippy experiences. The active ingredient in the psychedelic drug, psilocybin, disrupts the normal communication networks in the brain by connecting "brain regions that don't normally talk together."
29. The split-gill mushroom has over 23,328 distinct sexes, but not all can successfully mate with one another. Each sex can only be fertile with 22,960 other sexes.
30. In 2011, a biology professor extracted yeast from a 45-million-year-old insect from Myanmar that was trapped in amber and brewed beer from it.
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31False Morels' Toxicity
False morels, a type of mushroom, contain a poison that can be metabolized into rocket fuel.
32. Vegemite is actually the leftover concentrated yeast mixture from the bottom of alcohol barrels.
33. Seamus Blackley, an amateur Egyptologist, successfully baked bread with 4,500-year-old yeast extracted from ancient Egyptian ceramics, which were once used to bake bread and brew beer. During the extraction process, they injected a nutrient solution into the ceramics to activate the dormant yeast.
34. The Titanic was the site of discovery for tiny iron-eating microbes. These microbes form icicle-shaped "rusticles" composed of 35% iron compounds and a community of symbiotic microbes and fungi. By 2045, we expect them to dissolve the Titanic.
35. The thick white rind on the outside of a wheel of brie cheese is actually mold, specifically Penicillum candidum.
