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Fungus

What Llama-Poop-Eating Mites Tell Us About the Rise and Fall of the Inca Empire

Lake-dwelling mite populations boomed at the height of the Andean civilization but dropped following the arrival of Spanish conquistadors

New Research

This Humongous Fungus Is as Massive as Three Blue Whales

A new estimate suggests this mushroom is 2,500 Years Old and Weighs 440 tons

In 2017, scientists identified 2,189 new species of fungi, including the Galapagos Island lichen pictured here

Fungi Call Oil Paintings, Cockroach Guts Home Sweet Home

Scientists say they have identified a fungus species that could aid the fight against plastic pollution

When Bsal first arrived in the Netherlands, the pathogen wiped out 96 percent of the resident population of fire salamanders in a few years.

How American Scientists Are Planning to Thwart a Salamander Apocalypse

Yet another fungus threatens to decimate amphibians in North America, but this time, scientists stand ready

New Research

Something Is Killing Off Africa’s Largest Baobab Trees

In the last dozen years, four of the 13 largest, and likely oldest, trees have died. Another five are ailing

New Research

Humans Make Up Just 1/10,000 of Earth’s Biomass

Plants make up 80 percent, but human activity chopped that number in half over the last 10,000 years

A bat undergoing a UV light treatment

New Research

UV Light Could Help Stop the Bat-Killing White Nose Syndrome

Research shows the fungus is susceptible to UV light. The problem is getting bats into the tanning beds

French wine became imperilled in the mid-1800s as twin pests from America swept through European agricultural regions.

How One Mycologist Saved France’s Wine (Among Other Things)

Bordeaux mixture saved many crops besides grapes from fungus

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