Researchers from the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar) and São Paulo State University (UNESP) have isolated four fungi from the gut of the cotton bollworm caterpillar (Helicoverpa armigera) and shown, using scanning electron microscopy, that each one can alter the surface of polystyrene film. When fed expanded polystyrene, the caterpillar's gut microbiome shifted, with the yeast genus Diutina declining and potentially plastic-degrading genera including Aspergillus, Ta

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have developed fPE7max, a gene-editing tool built specifically for filamentous fungi, achieving editing efficiency approaching 90%. By using fPE7max to activate a master regulatory gene called laeA, the team awakened silent biosynthetic pathways across multiple fungal species, yielding eight molecules entirely new to science. Three of those molecules showed early anti-cancer properties in laboratory tests, including one with selec

A review published in Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences argues that beneficial fungi could transform sterile lunar and Martian regolith into a viable substrate for growing crops, supporting future human settlements beyond Earth.