Attack of the Killer Fungi: Rising Threat Worries Scientists

I just stumbled across this story. I don't even know what link I hit to bring it up.

This fungus problem sounds very, very serious. With current global travel, exchange of goods and services, it is easy to see how fungi could travel rapidly, but I never thought of fungi as all that deadly. Apparently I am wrong.

Some of this stuff sounds pretty scifi/horror scary.

news.yahoo.com...

An unprecedented number of diseases caused by fungi have been causing some of the most severe die-offs and extinctions ever witnessed in wild species and jeopardizing crops to boot, scientists now report.

Fungi are wiping out amphibians on several continents, decimating bats in eastern North America, contributing to the disappearance of bees dubbed colony collapse disorder, and killing corals and sea turtles.
...
They offer a number of reasons why. When infecting a large, vulnerable population, fungi can spread so quickly that they wipe out the population before the victims become too sparse to limit transmission.
Fungi can also infect a broad spectrum of hosts, although with different degrees of severity. This can lead some, less vulnerable species to become "super spreaders," carrying a disease that can spread to others, according to the team.
...
Fungi's genetic flexibility can help them evolve virulence quickly. Fungi can rapidly acquiring the genetic changes necessary to lead to the creation of new pathogens, and pathogenic lines can clone themselves. Humans help this process along by bringing together fungi that can still exchange genes but were once isolated from one another, the researchers write in the April 12 issue of the journal Nature.
...
And finally, fungi can also live independently, outside of their hosts. ... "Some environmental-acquired fungi kill their hosts but do not need them and consequently can drive a species to extinction,"

Death by fungi, eglllleglllllegllllleglllll

"Fungi are wiping out amphibians on several continents, decimating bats in eastern North America, contributing to the disappearance of bees dubbed colony collapse disorder, and killing corals and sea turtles."

I've been spending a wee bit too much time 'round here lately. As soon as I read that bit, I thought "Big honey corporations must have engineered a fungus to kill off competitors bees!"

Yeah, I'm going to bed now.

That is some scary stuff!
Reminds me of the movie DREAMCATCHER adapted from the book by Stephen King.
Definitely something I'll be looking into online.
Ty for the info

reply to post by poet1b


I've read a couple articles about the bat fungus. It's called white nose syndrome or something like that it's been quite devastating. If you haven't heard about it you should google it pretty important stuff.

www.stltoday.com...

Well I guess this is some good news. At least in a few places they may be recovering.

Hmm, maybe the reason aliens are probing people is to look for fungi.

That must be the worst way to die.

Add to that fungi taking over insect brains.

How long before we turn into zombie land?

Very interesting, never considered the bee problem being fungi

Also this does remind me of The Last Of Us ...(zombies indeed)