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UK Fungus Day
October 12th is UK Fungus Day, a chance for us to celebrate these cryptic, often microscopic, but essential organisms. Usually hidden away inside plants or in soil (or if you’re unlucky, in between your toes), fungi have largely been growing below scientists’ radars for centuries. Mycologists still don’t know anything close to the true number of fungi that exist on the planet. About a hundred thousand have been formally identified, but it’s estimated that anywhere from half a million to ten million species may exist. This dwarfs, by several orders of magnitude, how many mammals there are on Earth. And, increasingly, we’re realising quite how crucial fungi are to the functioning of our ecosystems. Head of Mycology at The Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Bryn Dentinger, explains how valuable fungi really are.
Nobel Prizes 2014; Gauge; Genetics and Diabetes; UK Fungus Day
BBC Radio 4 2014
Medical and Patient education videos
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European Respiratory Society: Should we be testing new drugs in the ‘real’ world where some patients smoke, are obese and have other comorbidities?
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European Respiratory Society: A revolutionary collaborative approach to research funding is providing new insights into the origins of chronic respiratory diseases.
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European Respiratory Society: Clean air is vitally important for people who live with aspergillosis. Chemical pollutants have the capacity to worsen symptoms and quality of life, PM2.5 particulates (mentioned in this video) include aspergillus and other fungal spores.
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European Respiratory Society launches its latest vision to support those with respiratory health difficulties throughout europe: encouraging patients to increase their levels of activity which is proven to improve lung health.
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Stewart Armstrong inspiring many people to do ‘Push-ups for aspergillosis’ to raise awareness and funds for aspergillosis research.
Facebook page (November 2015)
Also see the compelling video of Stewarts’ story as told by himself
