A night in on Mars with mushrooms
The many use of mushrooms…
There are many wonders in the world, like Chichen Itza, the great pyramids of Giza, and the Colossus of Rhodes. But there is something more wonderful, and the likelihood is that it can be found in your garden. It may not stand at 200 ft tall, or have a line of tourists, but the humble mushroom is just as wondrous. Members of the fungi family are the most versatile organisms on the planet. On our podcast, Discovery Matters, we have spent a lot of time on these fascinating fungi, and for good reason. From building materials in space to creating music to treating us at our lowest — is there anything they can’t do?
Floating fungi: Building materials
Back in February we had a fascinating conversation on how mycelium, the root system of the mushroom, can be used to make habitat structures on Mars. Yes, you read that right — Mars.
Chris Maurer, principal architect at redhouse studios, explained that redhouse is working with NASA on this project. And in a bonus episode, we learnt that redhouse are well placed to find a solution to building these structures as they have previously built homes in low-resource environments in Namibia using mushrooms. Chris used concrete-like blocks which could capture carbon and produce a food source. Thus, we can see that there is more than one benefit to using this substance.
On our 50th episode, Chris told us that when looking at the qualities of the red giant, one of the major issues is its inorganic soil. So, you couldn’t grow potatoes in the soil like Matt Damon. But this soil can be used for the building of structures when it is bound to mycelium the same way cement is with concrete. To create this biomass, you have to grow an autotrophic organism first.
Using a colony-forming cyanobacteria, this structure starts off as small bits of algae, but then they start to link up and form fibrous colonies. Once this biomass is formed, then the fungus grows on the algae to form this, stronger than concrete, solid structure.
There are many environmental benefits of using this biomass. This is a type of organism called a diazotroph which are amongst the very few organisms that can actually take nitrogen from the air and convert it into biomass.
Chris also detailed that the furniture could also be made from this mycelium biomass. So, once you land on the planet you would have a comfy mushroom bed awaiting you.
Funky fungi: mushroom melodies
So, you’ve landed on Mars and after traveling 140 million miles you just want a night in. How about some music?
Last year on our podcast Merlin Sheldrake, author, and biologist, spoke to us on our podcast about the amazing world of fungi.
Merlin took his love of fungi to another level by letting them snack on his book. Using microelectrodes on these fungi, Merlin was able to gain a sonic representation of the activity of the fungus as it ate away. The bioelectric field was then represented in an oscillator, to which it made the noise the oscillator made as it recorded the bioelectric field of the fungus.
So, who those fungi made music? Listen to our episode to hear those freaky funky fungi melodies.
So, next time you’re on Mars and looking for something to do for a quiet night in in your house made of mushrooms, put on some fungi tunes and jam out.
Other wicked uses
We have an upcoming episode on another incredible medicinal use of mushrooms. Later in the year we will be speaking with Prof. Eric Vermetten, a clinical psychiatrist working with veterans and other uniformed officers, on the use of psilocybin and other psychedelics. Psilocybin is a hallucinogenic compound found in the liberty cap and toadstools, so in essence magic mushrooms. This compound is being used to treat a range of mental health disorders including PTSD, depression, and anxiety according to recent studies.[1]
You can also listen to Tim Finnigan, Chief Scientific Advisor to Quorn, explain how mycoprotein is a great source of meat-free protein here. Or if you prefer to read, give this article a read.
So, keep an eye on out for that episode!
Have we inspired your myco-mania yet? If so, then here are some resources you can dive into:
· Follow the @MycoBookClub on Twitter for your regular fix of fungi.
· Check out Merlin Sheldrake’s book ‘Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, & Shape Our Futures.’ You can also see the fungi eating his book on his twitter (@merlinsheldrake).
· For more on homes on Mars, you can read this article on the venture.
