Light micrographs of Cladosporium sphaerospermum NRRL 8131
Black tunes will save the world.
You heard right. Melanin sings
gospel waves attuned to death,
and twists them to sweet life.
Can I get an amen? Amen!
Cladosporium sphaerospermum is a fungi that employs radiosynthesis. It eats radiation, where in the process the melanin in its body converts it to chemical energy. The process is similar to how plants turn carbon dioxide and chlorophyll into oxygen and glucose through photosynthesis.
Source information found at:
technology networks
cnet
Sarah is today’s host for dVerse‘ Poetics. Sarah says:
So let’s take fungi as our starting point tonight.
Tao Talk 
I love this… had not heard about it… sounds like magic, and maybe we can get something good out of such a being.
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God’s mercy is infinite. Each of those 2 articles mentions a different fungi.
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hallelujah! That is real magic – I love the images you found, too. You are very good at fusing visual and poetic artistry. I love your gospel twist on this amazing bit of science.
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Sarah, thank you. I see melanin as metaphor as well as science here. You are very kind ❤
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I agree with all of the above!
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Yay! 🙂
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Thanks for sharing — both the information and Marvin!
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My pleasure, Beverly ❤
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Radiosynthesis, you say, eh? Yowza! Waaaaay cool. Amen, Sister.
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🙂
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For poets, it’s pretty hard to separate Metaphysics and Science, faith and facts. Your images are like living snowflakes, and your message is blessed.
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Glenn, your comment has made my day ❤
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Great stuff, and some fine facts Lisa. I am sharing this interesting fact today: A “Armillaria Ostoyae” mushroom, in the Malheur National Forest, in the Strawberry Mountains of eastern Oregon, was found to be the largest fungal colony in the world, spanning an area of 3.5 square miles (2,200 acres; 9.1 km2).
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Can I say wow on the Strawberry Mountains fungal colony? I’d love to go there just to see what the energy is like there.
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Thanks for sharing the additional information. I learned something new today!
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You’re very welcome.
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How very unique ideas Li
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Thank you!
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You’re welcome 😉
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Wow!! Thanks for sharing this information, Li! Amazing. 🙂
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You’re very welcome 🙂
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Wow; is this information that you just happened to be carrying aroung in your head, Lisa? Why would somebody know about this?
So lovely.
-David
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A primer on how my mind works: In Sandor Katz’ book, Wild Fermentation, he mentions a doctor who treated radiation victims in Hiroshima. The doctor ate miso soup and seemed to be unaffected by the radiation, which opened up a question of how could this be. This led me to search for substances that eat radiation and it led me to the fungi they found at the Chernobyl site. You can read more about it at the links I provided.
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👏 👏 👏
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Fascinating! It sounds like sci fi but in fact it’s real science: you can have an amen from me!
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🙂 Yes, truth is always stranger than fiction!
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Wow! That is so cool!
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Yes it is 🙂
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Death into life…is there anything more basic? (K)
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❤
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I love learning something new- thank you Lisa!
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You’re very welcome. The idea we can enlist fungi to decontaminate our mistakes gives me hope for the future of the planet.
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Yes, so true!
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It’s a poem /and/ a biology lesson!
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Just like New Shimmer from SNL, it’s a dessert /and/ a floor wax 🙂
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I don’t know which one to comment about lol… It eats radiation? I found this which is cool
I looked it up… “An experiment has been made at the International Space Station in December 2018 and January 2019 to test whether radiotrophic fungi could be used as protection against radiation, especially in space. The experiment used Cladosporium sphaerospermum. Results were prepublished for peer-review in July 2020 “
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Yes it talks about that in one of the source articles. Imagining giant mushroom suits for astronauts 🙂
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I love that nature is what they turn to
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“Melanin sings,” in so many ways: whimsically true even as we ride the “gospel waves”! The voice in this poem is so palpable, so audible, Lisa.
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🙂 Thank you! I was happy with it.
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It’s amazing. I just wish it didn’t make me think of bacteria rapidly multiplying. 😳
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Just keep repeating mushrooms are our friends 🙂
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I’ll do so, in between deep breaths. 😁
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