[HN Gopher] Out of sight, 'dark fungi' run the world from the sh...
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       Out of sight, 'dark fungi' run the world from the shadows
        
       Author : Jimmc414
       Score  : 67 points
       Date   : 2024-06-26 21:44 UTC (2 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.scientificamerican.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.scientificamerican.com)
        
       | mitchbob wrote:
       | https://archive.ph/2024.06.21-130323/https://www.scientifica...
        
       | Molitor5901 wrote:
       | _The land, water and air around us are chock-full of DNA
       | fragments from fungi that mycologists can't link to known
       | organisms. These slippery beings are so widespread scientists are
       | calling them "dark fungi." It's a comparison to the equally
       | elusive dark matter and dark energy that permeates the universe.
       | Like those invisible entities, dark fungi are hidden movers and
       | shakers, prime examples of what E. O. Wilson called "the little
       | things that run the world."_
        
       | alluro2 wrote:
       | Wow...a very interesting read. It's always humbling when reminded
       | of how many and how large are the pieces we are completely
       | missing in the understanding of even the immediate world around
       | us.
       | 
       | We mostly behave like we have our basic every-day experience
       | pretty much covered - yet, there are such vast areas - across
       | basically all of sciences - that we just utterly don't
       | understand, and who knows how much more additionally that we
       | don't even know is there.
        
         | mistermann wrote:
         | > across basically all of sciences
         | 
         | Not to mention what is outside the domain of science. Sadly,
         | this area is essentially culturally off limits so I expect it
         | to remain as is in the short to medium term, perhaps forever.
        
           | TeMPOraL wrote:
           | Nothing is outside the domain of science. It's not about
           | culture, but attitude - science _makes_ everything its
           | domain. Scientific method is generally applicable, it 's a
           | universal tool for identifying _any_ kind of pattern that we
           | can possibly identify. Everything else is, in practice if not
           | theory, completely random, but  "completely random" is a
           | pattern too, so it too lives in the domain of science.
        
             | foolswisdom wrote:
             | I'm reminded of this response to the question "Is
             | materialism essential to scientific progress?"
             | <https://philosophy.stackexchange.com/a/110019>.
        
       | throwup238 wrote:
       | I don't know why the article references "dark matter" but doesn't
       | make the full connection to microbial dark matter:
       | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microbial_dark_matter
       | 
       | It's not just fungi that are difficult to culture. The (vast?)
       | majority of bacteria, virus, and archae species are undocumented
       | because we don't know how to grow them in a laboratory or even
       | stain them so that they're visible on a microscope slide. Except
       | for the occasional glimpse on an electron microscope slide, most
       | of them are completely invisible to science.
        
       | pollyturples wrote:
       | "You know about slime mold? Well, slime molds are so close to
       | being both plant and animal that it's like they can't make up
       | their minds. Some think that maybe it's these indecisive
       | organisms who have been running the earth all this time. There's
       | more slime mold than any other form of protoplasm on the planet.
       | If they wanted to, if they finally decided to commit to being
       | either plant or animal, they could take us over just like that.
       | [Interviewer: You talk about slime molds like I should know what
       | these are]. I mean, they're everywhere. If you walk in an
       | alleyway and slip a bit, twisting your ankle, maybe it wasn't an
       | accident. Maybe it was a slime mold attack." - David St Hubbins
       | in a deleted scene from Spinal Tap (1984)
        
       | rvba wrote:
       | Why do the scientists velieve that using a "quick test" that
       | checks only part of DNA is good? Wouldnt it be better to do full
       | sequencing, instead of this ITS test? Especially if that part is
       | mutating quickly.
       | 
       | If they want to move forward shouldnt thry do boring full
       | sequencing? Then they can make real comparisons, not estimates?
        
       | psilobalt wrote:
       | Slightly off-topic, but not really - cultivating mushrooms is
       | really fascinating. And those that hold magic offer an additional
       | element of very special satisfaction. If you're looking for a new
       | hobby, give it a try! It's easy to start with a colonized growth
       | kit - you can buy those online.
       | 
       | If you like it, the next level is growing your own mycelium in
       | liquid culture (basically in honey water).
       | 
       | If that works out will, use it to colonize your own substrate.
       | 
       | Then, you can produce your own (storable) spore prints from
       | harvested mushrooms. Which you can use to create new mycelium
       | liquid cultures. And the cycle can be repeated indefinitely, with
       | tons of harvest!
        
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