As Sir David Attenborough explains in this Planet Earth video, the cordyceps fungus is lethal to insects. Now a study to be published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry reports that cordycepin, a substance derived from the fungus, has potential as an antineoplastic medication:
...at a low dose cordycepin inhibits the uncontrolled growth and division of the cells, and at high doses it stops cells from sticking together, which also inhibits growth.
I saw the same video clip a couple of weeks back and immediately wish I hadn't.
ReplyDeleteEeeeek.... It could cure cancer... or turn us into hyper-contagious, fungus-addled, tree-climbing, sporulating corpses. That's even more creepy than zombies. But hey, it's worth a shot.
ReplyDeleteSome fungi leave inside human bodies (not that I want to worry you or anything).
ReplyDelete