{"id":156444,"date":"2023-03-14T19:19:36","date_gmt":"2023-03-14T19:19:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tecscience.tec.mx\/en\/?p=156444"},"modified":"2023-08-02T22:59:58","modified_gmt":"2023-08-02T22:59:58","slug":"fungi-friends-or-foes-for-the-human-being","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tecscience.tec.mx\/en\/biotechnology\/fungi-friends-or-foes-for-the-human-being\/","title":{"rendered":"Fungi: friends or foes for the human being?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fungi have remained dormant in nature for millions of years, but recently they\u2019ve sparked apocalyptic scenarios in people&#8217;s imaginations, causing many to wonder whether they are friends or enemies.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The discussion has made its way to social media following the successful television adaptation of the video game <em>The Last Of Us<\/em>, which portrays a <strong>dystopian future caused by a pandemic of an actual fungus species called <em>cordyceps unilateralis<\/em>.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Can fungi be the cause of the next pandemic and perhaps responsible for our extinction? <\/strong>Or can we use them to create a <strong>brighter, healthier, and more sustainable future<\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Fungi: from turning ants into zombies to tv<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the first episode of the HBO series, actor John Hannah, in his role as a scientist, mentions that there are parasitic fungi such as <em>cordyceps<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>This fungus can infect some insects such as spiders and ants, by controlling their actions in order to expand its range.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, the human body temperature acts as a barrier that protects against infection by this fungus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;The fungus cannot survive if the internal temperature of the host exceeds 34 celsius degrees. But what if that could change? What if the world gets warmer? That would be a reason to adapt,&#8221; the actor explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>This part of the series is closer to science than fiction. <\/strong><em>Cordyceps unilateralis<\/em> is capable of infecting insects and is mainly found in tropical forests, also known as the fungus that turns ants into zombies.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S0166061617300593\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Research conducted by Jo\u00e3o Ara\u00fajo<\/a> from the Biology and Entomology department at Pennsylvania State University identified new species of this fungus in Brazil, Colombia, the United States, Australia, and Japan as recently as 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, despite the fact that the fungus is real and has been scientifically studied for decades and by various cultures, Jo\u00e3o himself <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sciencetech\/article-11711123\/How-zombie-fungus-three-steps-away-infecting-HUMANS-like-Us.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">has recently pointed out<\/a> \u2212in response to the question of whether a fungus pandemic is possible\u2212 that although it is unlikely, evolutionarily the fungus could continue to adapt to heat, as it is believed to have done millions of years ago in order to infect ants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, research on fungi has not only revealed that<strong> risks are less apocalyptic than those portrayed in the series, but also has revealed benefits for humans<\/strong>, such as their health, nutrition, and potential for a more sustainable future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.quimica.es\/enciclopedia\/Cordyceps.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Cordyceps unilateralis<\/em><\/a>, for instance, has been shown to have medicinal value in the form of drugs such as cordycepin and <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/12422576\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">cyclosporine<\/a>, which are used as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rheumatology.org\/I-Am-A\/Patient-Caregiver\/Tratamientos\/Ciclosporina-Neoral-Sandimmune-Gengraf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">immunosuppressants <\/a>in human organ transplantation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Fighting fungi in agriculture with metals and nanotech<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although there is currently no scientific evidence that fungi can cause a pandemic like in <em>The Last of Us<\/em>, it does not mean that there are no species of fungi that affect aspects of people&#8217;s lives, as in the case of agriculture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Insects, bacteria, and of course, fungi, have represented a challenge for farmers by infecting and damaging crops.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For example, phytopathogenic fungi cause various diseases in plants by having the ability to adapt to almost any environment and affect different stages of agriculture, from growth to crop harvesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Most of these fungi are controlled with chemical products, but these chemicals can also cause health and environmental problems<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In response to this situation, researchers from the<strong> Tecnol\u00f3gico de Monterrey<\/strong>, the <strong>National Polytechnic Institute<\/strong>, and the <strong>National Technological Institute of Mexico<\/strong> are analyzing the use of nanotechnology to combat fungi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2021,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2309-608X\/7\/12\/1033\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> this team investigated and tested the use of metal nanoparticles <\/a>such as silver, copper, iron, zinc, selenium, nickel, and palladium to better combat these fungi without the side effects of chemical products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Edible fungi that replace styrofoam (and it&#8217;s nutritious)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the other hand, Hafiz Muhammad Nasir, a <strong>Tec de Monterrey<\/strong> Level 2 researcher at the National System of Researchers (SNI), conducted a study to find a use for fungal enzymes in addressing the excess plastic (PET) in the environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;These enzymes have emerged as candidates for the development of PET degradation processes,&#8221; as stated in the study, which also involved researchers from the <strong>School of Social Sciences at the University of Westminster in London<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This process aims to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2309-608X\/7\/11\/931#B67-jof-07-00931\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">replace the burning and accumulation of plastic and prevent the environmental consequences they cause<\/a>, using fungi as microorganisms that can help in the future on an industrial scale to degrade PET.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another use that has been given to fungi is to enhance the health properties of foods, such as in the case of <a href=\"https:\/\/tecscience.tec.mx\/en\/uncategorized\/nejayote-a-residue-of-corn-but-beneficial-for-health\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">nejayote<\/a>, a waste product of the industrial process of corn known as nixtamalization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This research led by professors from the <a href=\"https:\/\/tecscience.tec.mx\/en\/tag\/school-of-engineering-and-sciences\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">School of Engineering and Sciences at Tec<\/a> explores the use of edible fungi fermentation to maximize the antioxidants and fiber in nejayote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The nixtamalization process generates around 422,000 tons of nejayote, and by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/abs\/pii\/S0733521019302875?via%3Dihub\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">creating solids from this waste material together with edible fungi, a high amount of fiber can be obtained <\/a>and applied to cereal-based foods such as tortillas, cookies, and bread, among others.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>They have been imagined as responsible for pandemics, but, in reality, they can help against contamination and diseases.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":156490,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[93],"tags":[156,174,180,135],"class_list":["post-156444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-biotechnology","tag-biotechnology","tag-circular-economy","tag-climate-change","tag-school-of-engineering-and-sciences"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v21.0 (Yoast SEO v27.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Fungi: friends or foes for the human being? | TecScience<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"They have been imagined as responsible for pandemics, but, in reality, they can help against contamination and diseases.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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This type has been portrayed in science fiction as responsible for new diseases. Actually, this species has helped in the development of medicines, such as immunosuppressants. 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Trabaj\u00e9 en CONECTA, el sitio de noticias del Tec de Monterrey. Egresado de la Licenciatura en Comunicaci\u00f3n de la Universidad Aut\u00f3noma de Coahuila, mi trabajo ha sido publicado en medios digitales de M\u00e9xico y en algunos lugares del extranjero. Creo en el poder de las historias y su impacto en el mundo, inspirando y ayudando a creer que el futuro puede ser mejor.","url":"https:\/\/tecscience.tec.mx\/en\/author\/avillanueva\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tecscience.tec.mx\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156444","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tecscience.tec.mx\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tecscience.tec.mx\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tecscience.tec.mx\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tecscience.tec.mx\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=156444"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tecscience.tec.mx\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156444\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tecscience.tec.mx\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/156490"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tecscience.tec.mx\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=156444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tecscience.tec.mx\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=156444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tecscience.tec.mx\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=156444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}