Today, the impressive Dr. Arturo Casadevall of Johns Hopkins University returns to the podcast to discuss how fungal disease is a looming threat on our warming planet, and how these organisms can use pigmentation to adapt to human-associated environments . . . and increase their chances of causing disease.
Host: Mark O. Martin
Guest: Arturo Casadevall
Download MM#82 (36 MB mp3, 59 min)
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Spotify
Become a patron of Matters Microbial!
Links for this episode
- A video overview of the understudied world of fungi.
- A CDC overview of fungal diseases.
- A hopeful study: fungi, frogs, and purple bacteria. A less scholarly but highly recommended essay is here.
- Dr. Casadevall’s earlier visit to #MattersMicrobial.
- The story of Alexander Fleming, a stray fungal spore, and penicillin.
- The story of fungi and cyclosporins, which help with organ transplantation in humans.
- A recent New York Times article on fungal networks.
- An article about mass extinctions and “fungal overgrowth.”
- A review of the structure and function of melanin.
- An overview of how melanin can be used to turn various forms of radiation into energy.
- A review of high body temperatures versus fungal infections.
- One of the articles discussed today, from Dr. Casadevall’s group: “Impact of Yeast Pigmentation on Heat Capture and Latitudinal Distribution.”
- Another article from Dr. Casadevall’s group discussed today: “The hypothermic nature of fungi.”
- A really fascinating preprint from Dr. Casadevall’s group discussed today: “Thermal and pigment characterization of environmental fungi in the urban heat island of Baltimore City”
- Dr. Casadevall’s faculty website.
- The research website for Dr. Casadevall’s group.
Intro music is by Reber Clark
Send your questions and comments to mattersmicrobial@gmail.com
Leave a Reply