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One is an event, two is a coincidence—but three is a pattern. On Monday, the Department of Justice announced that a third Chinese national has been nabbed for allegedly trying to smuggle biological materials into the United States. Making things more disturbing is a fact that a Hollywood screenwriter couldn’t have come up with: the smuggler was studying in, where else, Wuhan, China. You’ve heard of Wuhan, haven’t you? The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan released a statement alleging that Chengxuan Han, “a citizen of the PRC” (People's Republic of China), sent packages containing biological material...

A Chinese national couple was hit with criminal charges Tuesday for allegedly smuggling a dangerous fungus into the US capable of destroying crops and poisoning humans and livestock. Zunyong Liu, 34, was caught by US Customs and Border Protection officers attempting to smuggle Fusarium graminearum – a biological pathogen considered to be “a potential agroterrorism weapon” – into the US via the Detroit Metropolitan Airport last July, according to a criminal complaint filed in a federal court in the Eastern District of Michigan. Liu initially made false statements about his visit to the US and his knowledge of the pathogen...

Two Chinese nationals have been charged with allegedly smuggling into the U.S. a fungus called "Fusarium graminearum, which scientific literature classifies as a potential agroterrorism weapon," the Justice Department said Tuesday. Yunqing Jian, 33, and Zunyong Liu, 34, citizens of the People’s Republic of China, were allegedly receiving Chinese government funding for their research, some of which at the University of Michigan, the Justice Department said.

The inhabitants of Montchavin in the French Alps knew something was killing them. They just didn't know what. Some wondered whether lead from a disused mine in the village had leaked into the water supply. Others thought mobile phone masts were to blame. One woman believed the area was cursed. Between 1991 and 2019, 16 people – almost a tenth of the area's 200-strong population – were diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a fatal condition more commonly known as motor neurone disease (MND). In other words, if you lived in Montchavin, you were 20 times more likely to contract MND...

A component found in all fungi may provide a shield against flu-related lung damage, according to a new study. A team of scientists demonstrated that beta-glucan, administered to mice before their exposure to influenza, can reduce lung damage, improve lung function and lower the risk of illness and death. Beta-glucan is found in all fungi, including mushrooms and yeast, as well as grains like oats and barley. The scientists discovered that a unique structure of this component can boost defenses against pathogens. While most research focuses on stopping the virus from replicating, this study explored how to regulate the body's...

A team has shown that the natural substance ergothioneine improves the health span of aging animals. Ergothioneine is a natural compound found in certain fungi such as oyster or shiitake mushrooms as well as fermented foods. The researchers observed that treatment with ergothioneine from young adulthood not only extended the lifespan, but also increased their mobility as well as their resistance to stress and reduced age-related biomarkers. The project partners were also able to observe these positive effects in mammals. For three weeks, they treated six nine-month-old rats with a daily dose of about 10 milligrams of ergothioneine—roughly the same...

A fungus causing powdery mildew in blueberries has spread from the U.S. to continents like Europe and Asia, threatening crops and increasing fungicide dependence. NC State researchers found that blueberry powdery mildew has spread globally in two strains, costing the industry up to $530 million annually. A new tool now helps farmers identify and manage the disease. A new study from North Carolina State University has traced the global spread of a fungus that causes powdery mildew in blueberry plants—a disease that lowers crop yields and increases reliance on fungicides. These findings could help blueberry growers better predict, monitor, and...

Germanic warrior taking stimulants imagined by Stanislav (Stanisław) Kontny, especially for the Praehistorische Zeitschrift. Credit: Stanisław Kontny for Praehistorische Zeitschrift Recent discoveries suggest that small spoon-shaped objects attached to the belts of ancient Northern European warriors might have been used to measure doses of stimulants before battle. These findings, uncovered through the combined efforts of archaeologists and biologists, propose a widespread use of natural stimulants among the Germanic peoples during the Roman period, challenging the notion that these groups primarily consumed alcohol. The use of such substances could have been crucial not only in warfare but also in medicinal and...

Shortly after the devastating eruption, some gophers went on a very confusing day trip. A member of the gopher recovery team getting to work. Image credit: Mike Allen/UCR When Mount St Helens erupted in 1980, the resulting lava, ash, and debris turned the landscape barren for miles around. It was clear the land would take a long time to recover from the eruption. But one team of scientists had an idea about how they could help speed up the process; sending a few gophers there on a day trip. Plant life struggled to return to the area around Mount St...

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in women, with high rates of mortality and morbidity. According to a study, scientists have revealed a new function of ganoderic acids from Ganoderma lucidum (G. lucidum) for treating breast cancer. This is the first time scientists identified potential targets of ganoderic acids for breast cancer treatment using bioinformatics techniques. G. lucidum, also called as Lingzhi in Chinese, is a popular medicinal fungus. It has a unique therapeutic and pharmacological reputation in suppressing cancer/tumor progression, especially breast cancer, due to its embedded rich bioactive chemical constituents, mainly triterpenoids (ganoderic acids). In...

Padlocks apparently didn't stop vandals from breaking into a northwest Detroit church that was selling magic mushrooms. On Friday morning, the head of Soul Tribes Ministries, Robert Shumake "Shaman Shu," showed the Commanding Officer of Detroit Police Department's 8th precinct, Dietrich Lever, damage that was allegedly done while the property was supposed to be under lock and key by the City of Detroit. "They took the copper off the roof. They took the Sloane valves out of the toilet and left the water running, so I don't know how long it had been running; if it was a week or...

A Brookline teen was severely injured after he had “magic mushrooms” and jumped from a sixth-story window, according to police who arrested a drug dealer accused of targeting local kids. Brookline Police are now warning parents after this incident and the arrest of a 22-year-old man in Brookline Village. Based on a tip, Brookline detectives began investigating a suspected drug dealer who goes by the name Niko. He was allegedly selling drugs to underage teens. Some of the products were purchased at local marijuana dispensaries, where Niko allegedly bought the products that are legal for those 21-plus. Many students at...

An off-duty pilot allegedly tried to shut off the engines on an Alaska Airlines plane while it was on its way to San Francisco, police said. The plane on Flight 2059 was travelling from Everett, Washington, but had to be diverted to Portland, Oregon, after the incident. Horizon Air, a subsidiary of Alaska Airlines, said the presence of a "credible threat" in the jump seat of the cockpit’s flight deck. "The jump seat occupant unsuccessfully attempted to disrupt the operation of the engines," read a statement from the airline. "The Horizon Captain and First Officer quickly responded, engine power was...

The out-of-control airline pilot who tried to down an Alaskan Airlines flight midair told cops he had taken magic mushrooms before the flight, it emerged Tuesday. Joseph Emerson, 44, an off-duty commercial airline pilot, went off the rails while sitting in the cockpit jump seat of a flight between Everett, Washington, and San Francisco on Sunday — trying to cut the fuel to the engines before he had to be held down by crew members. Even while restrained, Emerson tried to open the emergency doors on the Alaskan flight, which was being operated by Horizon Air, as the pilots frantically...

Chronic bowel inflammation is based on an excessive or misdirected inflammatory reaction. Experts assume that the immune system also reacts incorrectly to microorganisms in the intestine that do not cause an inflammatory immune reaction in a healthy state. Now, researchers have discovered that yeast fungi could play an important role in this. Trillions of microorganisms colonize the human body, especially the intestine. This microbiome consists mainly of viruses and bacteria, but to a lesser extent also of fungi. However, according to current research, this interaction is disturbed in Crohn's disease, a chronic inflammatory bowel disease where the immune cells react...

Magic mushrooms may have been to blame for Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s mortifying bow before a Chinese official last week. Yellen, 76, gobbled four portions of jian shou qing, a type of wild mushroom, when she dropped in at a casual Beijing restaurant soon after she arrived there on July 6, Chinese state media reported in an effusive story that took care to praise the secretary’s chopstick skills. But the funky fungi are known in their native province of Yunnan for their unpredictable psychedelic effects, CNN reported.

Cases of Candida auris doubled in 2021, according to a new CDC report. A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed the fungus Candida auris is spreading rapidly through U.S. health care facilities. Also known as C. auris, reports of cases linked to the drug-resistant fungus have doubled in 2021. In addition, the fungus is behind an outbreak in Mississippi that began in November, infecting at least 12 people and potentially responsible for about four deaths, according to figures provided by the state Department of Health to ABC News. Although C. auris does not present a...

Researchers have been investigating how fungi can replace or benefit existing computer architectural components. Studies have recently been completed that show it is possible to implement basic logical circuits and basic electronic circuits with mycelium – the network of fungal threads usually hidden deep beneath the fruiting fungus body. Founded in 2001, the Unconventional Computing Laboratory at the University of the West of England in Bristol, UK, is behind the headlining work. The lab certainly lives up to its name with its research involving fungi. At the university is the UK’s only so-called ‘wet lab’, which mixes chemicals, liquids, biological...

An influential US medical panel is warning about the dangers of a rapidly spreading deadly fungus — just a week after the hit zombie show The Last of Us wrapped up. The American College of Physicians (ACAP) said the rise and spread of antibiotic-resistant cases of Candida auris, also known as C auris, is 'particularly concerning'. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) already described the fungus, which kills up to 60 percent of people it infects, as an 'urgent threat' in 2019. A person is infected after coming into direct contact with a contaminated object. It spreads from...

Species of parasitic Cordyceps and Ophiocordyceps fungi are very real. Sir David Attenborough watches as one takes control of an ant: [video clip] That clip of zombie ants inspired "The Last of Us" There are some nasty bugs on there, but you'll be relieved to know that zombifying-Cordyceps do not feature. Candida auris is...a yeast-type fungus... But if it gets inside the body, it can invade the blood, nervous system and internal organs. "It's...now being found all over the world," says Dr Stone. The first documented case was in the ear of a patient at Tokyo Metropolitan Geriatric Hospital in...