The Fluff at the Heart of ... Everything?
THE PROBLEM: We think the processes that will save us, or at least make us rich for a short spasm of time, are the big tech-y technical things we can hold in our hands, put on racks, send into orbit, etc. etc. etc. The bigger and tech-ier, the better! So we think, even when we can see the consequences of Big Techie-Tech all around us.
WHO'S ALREADY ON IT: Not "who," but "what" – mycelium! Fluffy bits of fibrous thread that exist in the soils of this planet, on every continent. Nobody sees it at work, but it never stops working, growing, spreading, breaking down organic matter to nourish its "fruiting bodies" (what we call "mushrooms" or "fungi"), which spit out spores to propagate the mycelium across acres, miles.
I am in no way an expert on mycelium, but every time I venture down the generous rabbit hole on this topic, I feel more and more SANE, hopeful, inspired, curious about the future and what people are going to invent in partnership with these fluffy fibers. Paul Stamets is, of course, the big name, the first global speaker to shout out for mycelium and mushrooms. His TED talk, "Six Ways Mushrooms Can Save the World," is a revelatory trip into the powers of a largely ignored life form. Fungi are far more than food, Stamets shows us. This talk and Stamets' educational work have had such an impact, even Star Trek: Discovery posited a mycelium-based "spore drive" for interstellar travel, and named the drive's inventor ... "Paul Stamets."
For a real visual trip, check out the documentary Fantastic Fungi, by filmmaker Louie Schwartzberg. "What began as a film quickly grew into a global community and a movement," Schwartzberg writes on the film's home page. "Whether you’re just beginning to explore the mycelial network or diving deeper, Fantastic Fungi is your ally."
The real-life Paul Stamets shot to fame when he showed six ways mushrooms could save the world. But that "global community and a movement" Louie Schwartzberg mentioned has picked up mycelium and taken off. It's a fibrous growth industry, my dear! Even so staid a publication as National Geographic has opened up the subject. Building materials, packaging, water filters, and most needfully, medicine, are being made from mycelium, everywhere on the planet.
Research is still happening on the medical front, but reading up on mushrooms' beta-d-glucans can boost your hope levels regarding the human immune system's future ability to deal with rapidly mutating COVID viruses. Fungi can make the difference if they can become a readily available medicine. Again, I am not a doctor, research scientist, or otherwise certified to talk about mushrooms (except to say, Don't use AI to identify fungi in the wild, please), but I think you all ought to save a Hallelujah or two for fungi, mushrooms, and mycelium.
#Ground #mushrooms #mycelium #alternativematerials #betadglucans #immunology #soil