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Stamets is on the editorial board of The International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms, and is an advisor to the Program for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona Medical School, Tucson, Arizona. He is active in researching the medicinal properties of mushrooms,[2] and is involved in two NIH-funded clinical studies on cancer and HIV treatments using mushrooms as adjunct therapies. Having filed numerous patents on the antiviral, pesticidal, and remediative properties of mushroom mycelia, his work has been called pioneering and visionary.[3] A strong advocate of preserving biodiversity, Stamets supports research into the role of mushrooms for ecological restoration.
The author of numerous books and papers on the subject of mushroom identification and cultivation, Stamets has discovered four new species of mushrooms. He is an advocate of the permaculture system of growing, and considers fungiculture a valuable but underutilized aspect of permaculture. He is also a leading researcher into the use of mushrooms in bioremediation, processes he terms mycoremediation and mycofiltration.
Stamets was the recipient of the "Bioneers Award" from The Collective Heritage Institute in 1998,[4] as well as the "Founder of a New Northwest Award" from the Pacific Rim Association of Resource Conservation and Development Councils in 1999. He was also named one of Utne Reader's "50 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World" in their November–December 2008 issue. In February 2010, Paul received the President's Award from the Society for Ecological Restoration: Northwest Chapter, in recognition of his contributions to Ecological Restoration. His work was featured in the documentary film The 11th Hour.[5]
Originally posted by Aeons
The problem is that this only address oil that has come on land - which shouldn't even be GETTING to the land.
Originally posted by Aggie Man
Originally posted by Aeons
The problem is that this only address oil that has come on land - which shouldn't even be GETTING to the land.
well, that is exactly what this thread is about....dealing with the oil that has made landfall. Sure, it sucks that oil is getting into the wetland marshes, but THAT problem must be addressed as well.
1) [Update] We now know that one of our strains of Oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) is tolerant to saltwater exposure. The mycelium fully colonizes salt water soaked straw. Salinity levels will be disclosed in the near future.
Originally posted by Aeons
Does it work in salt water? or just fresh water?
What we know:
1) [Update] We now know that one of our strains of Oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) is tolerant to saltwater exposure. The mycelium fully colonizes salt water soaked straw. Salinity levels will be disclosed in the near future.
2) Straw that has been inoculated with Oyster mushroom mycelium floats, making it a potential candidate for use in water-borne mycelial containment/filtration systems.
3) More than 120 novel enzymes have been identified from mushroom-forming fungi.
4) Various enzymes breakdown a wide assortment of hydrocarbon toxins.
5) My work with Battelle Laboratories, in collaboration with their scientists, resulted in TAH’s (Total Aromatic Hydrocarbons) in diesel contaminated soil to be reduced from 10,000 ppm to < 200 ppm in 16 weeks from a 25% inoculation rate of oyster (Pleurotus ostreatus) mycelium, allowing the remediated soil to be approved for use as landscaping soil along highways. (Thomas et al., 1999)
6) Oil contains a wide variety of toxins, many of which are carcinogens.
7) Mycelium more readily degrades lower molecular weight hydrocarbons (3,4,5 ring) than heavier weight hydrocarbons. However, the heavier weight hydrocarbons are reduced via mycelial enzymes into lighter weight hydrocarbons, allowing for a staged reduction with subsequent mycelial treatments.
8) Aged mycelium from oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) mixed in with ‘compost’ made from woodchips and yard waste (50:50 by volume) resulted in far better degradation of hydrocarbons than oyster mushroom mycelium or compost alone.
9) Oyster mycelium does not degrade keratin-based hair as it produces little or no keratinases, whereas other mold fungi such as Chaetomium species (which include some high temperature-tolerant leaf mold fungi) produce keratinases.
10) Worms die when put into contact with high concentrations of hydrocarbon saturated soils, but live after mycelial treatments reduce the toxins below the lethal thresholds.
11) Spring inoculations work better than fall inoculations as the mycelium has more time to grow-out. Bioregional specificities must be carefully considered.
12) Amplifying native mushroom species in the bioregion impacted by toxic spills work better than non-native species.
13) More funding is needed to better understand and implement mycoremediation technologies.
14) Oil spills will occur in the future—we need to be ready for them!
Originally posted by Aeons
Ah - thank you for the clarification on this being for land clean-up solely.
Originally posted by DaMod
Actually yes, he did discover a lot. He is a leader in his field to say the least.
No need to poke fun..
Originally posted by DaMod
Oh yeah btw, you can make as much fun as you want, but you are going to have a really difficult time discrediting Paul.... A real hard time...