Less Fungus among Us Warm-Blooded
A study in the Journal of Infectious Diseases finds that one major advantage of being warm-blooded is that the great majority of fungi cannot infect us. Karen Hopkin reports
SUBSCRIBE TO Science Quickly
On supporting science journalism
If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
[The following is an exact transcript of this podcast.]
Some people eat to avoid being bored. Others to avoid doing something they’d rather not, like preparing a podcast. Now a report says we might eat to avoid fungi. Because warm-bloodedness, a condition that requires a lot of calories, may have evolved to keep fungal infections at bay.
There are obvious benefits to being warm blooded. Like not having to sit in the sun for a few hours just to get going in the morning. Another, less obvious plus, is the fact that we tend not to get attacked by fungi. Of the one-and-a-half million fungal species on Earth, only a few hundred are capable of infecting mammals. Compare that to a quarter of a million fungi that target plants, and 50,000 species that infect insects. So what makes us mammals relatively fungus-free? It seems to be our hot bodies.
Scientists measured how well 4,000 different fungi fared at different temperatures. They found that nearly all grow well up to about 86 degrees. Beyond that, the survivors drop by six percent for each extra degree. The study appears in the Journal of Infectious Diseases. Bottom line: if you can’t stand the fungus, get back in the kitchen.
—Karen Hopkin
Subscribe to Support Independent Journalism
Great science journalism requires human expertise, time, effort and creativity. And it costs money. That’s why I and the journalists here at Scientific American hope you’ll join our community.
When you subscribe, you are supporting staff and freelance journalists who are passionate about telling science stories that are true, important and compelling. Our editors and reporters are often experts in their fields, which means they understand the nuances of big discoveries and can untangle the breakthroughs from the hype. With a subscription, you are also supporting rigorous fact-checking to ensure the words we publish are precise and accurate. And you’re supporting original illustrations, graphics and photos that bring you closer to an advanced laboratory, an ice sheet in Antarctica or a space mission in orbit. You’re helping us craft other types of high-quality journalism as well: Our newsletters are carefully written, edited and curated by staffers you have or will come to know and love. Our Science Quickly podcast is based on original reporting, collaboration with editors and scientists and exacting production.
Subscriptions keep this engine running so we can continue to deliver thoughtful, rigorous and independent science journalism to you. In an era of viral misinformation, this work is crucial. If you value what we do, I hope you’ll consider joining us as a subscriber
