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Wednesday

The Rise Of Yeast: How Civilization Was Shaped By Sugar Fungi

Fresh and dried yeast. It might not look like much, but it has shaped the way we eat and live, according to a new book. Maximilian Stock Ltd./Getty Images hide caption

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Maximilian Stock Ltd./Getty Images

The Salt

The Rise Of Yeast: How Civilization Was Shaped By Sugar Fungi

Without yeast, bread wouldn't rise and beer wouldn't foam. As Nicholas Money's new book, The Rise of Yeast, points out, it leaves its mark on other foods, too, including coffee, and even chocolate.

Monday

Mushrooms Are Good For You, But Are They Medicine?

Enoki mushrooms have been used in Eastern medicine for hundreds of years and are now being studied for their anti-tumor properties. Mary Shattock/Flickr hide caption

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Mary Shattock/Flickr

The Salt

Mushrooms Are Good For You, But Are They Medicine?

Edible mushrooms, not the psychedelic ones, are low in calories and high in fiber and antioxidants. But despite the hype, scientists are just now looking into how they might fight disease in humans.

Mushrooms Are Good For You, But Are They Medicine?

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Monday

The Cheese Does Not Stand Alone: How Fungi And Bacteria Team Up For A Tastier Rind

A block of Tomme de Savoie cheese ages with a sweater of Mucor lanceolatus fungal mold. Mucor itself doesn't have a strong taste, but more flavorful bacteria can travel far and wide along its hyphae — the microscopic, branched tendrils that fungi use to bring in nutrients. Benjamin Wolfe/Benjamin Wolfe hide caption

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Benjamin Wolfe/Benjamin Wolfe

The Salt

The Cheese Does Not Stand Alone: How Fungi And Bacteria Team Up For A Tastier Rind

Cheese rinds may seem simple, even discardable, but the microbial world they contain is complex. Among their inhabitants: bacterial swimmers that hop on highways of fungal tendrils to get around.

Wednesday

Fungal Pesticides Offer A Growing Alternative To Traditional Chemicals

When it comes to biopesticides, one of the most widely used fungi is Beauveria bassiana. Above, a kudzu bug killed by Beauveria bassiana, seen growing out of the cadaver. Courtesy of Brian Lovett/University of Maryland Entomology hide caption

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Courtesy of Brian Lovett/University of Maryland Entomology

The Salt

Fungal Pesticides Offer A Growing Alternative To Traditional Chemicals

The rise of organic produce has sparked a new interest in using biopesticides like fungi to kill insects, instead of traditional synthetic ones. But they are still just a tiny segment of the market.

Tuesday

A Microbe Hunter Plies Her Trade In Space

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins floats in the International Space Station in September 2016, wearing a spacesuit decorated by patients recovering at the MD Anderson Cancer Center. NASA Johnson/Flickr hide caption

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NASA Johnson/Flickr

Shots - Health News

A Microbe Hunter Plies Her Trade In Space

Meet Kate Rubins, a virus-hunter turned astronaut. When she sequenced DNA in space for the first time, she opened the door to a new era in space biology.

A Microbe Hunter Plies Her Trade In Space

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Saturday

The Human Body's Complicated Relationship With Fungi

(Top left to right) Cladosporium werneckii, Aspergillus fumigates and Aspergillus fumigateurs. (Bottom left to right) Sepedonium, Aspergillus niger and Fusarium. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hide caption

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Shots - Health News

The Human Body's Complicated Relationship With Fungi

Among the microbes that live in us and on us, bacteria have gotten most of the attention. Now scientists are exploring the fungi and their effects on health.