Radiation-loving fungi: the perfect space food?

http://space.newscientist.com/article/dn11917-radiationloving-fungi-the-perfect-space-food.html

It is mainly saying that a radioactive mushroom grows more and being edible in space it will help the space travelers on extended mission by them being able to have more food. It also explains what will happen if they added more melanin to one mushroom and left one mushroom alone to grow and just zapped them both with gamma rays. As expected the dark colored melanin filled one grew more. Arturo Casadeval thinks that fungi will be able to live in the worst conditions as long as their is radiation. The dark colored fungi uses the pigment that also makes our skin dark, melanin.

1) What type of lifestyle does the fungus in the article have? (Is it saprophytic, autotrophic, or parasitic?) What information lead you to this conclusion?

It is autotrophic and saprophytic. This lead me to these conclusions because if is absorbs radiation which is just another form of sunlight then it's autotrophic. It is saprophytic because it can still absorb dead materials and it loves moist dark places.

2) What benefits or problems can you foresee with this particular fungus?

It will become to radioactive and probably cause harm to the people trying to eat or touch it.

3) List three things you learned from this article in your own words.

I learned that there really is such a thing a a radioactive mushroom. I also learned that they could probably grow on just radiation. I also learned that it could help astronauts in outer space by them having extra food.

4) Infer what potential impact this fungus will have on the environment it grows in.

It probably will cause other things to become radioactive and may cause things to grow larger or die. People may become radioactive and dying might occur of the human race or not.

Symbiotic Fungus Does Not Depend On Fungus-farming Ants For Reproduction, Researchers Say

Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/06/060628095216.htm

Summary: Ants are using fungi to help survive. This is called a symbioctic realationship. The ants feed the fungus in return the fungus feeds them and the process go's on. And the fungi acts as a sort of protection and housing for the ants.



Fungi Article Questions:

1) What type of lifestyle does the fungus in the article have? (Is it saprophytic, autotrophic, or parasitic?) What information lead you to this conclusion? Decomposer
2) What benefits or problems can you foresee with this particular fungus? It is helping the ants survive
3) List three things you learned from this article in your own words. Fungi reproduce sexually and disperse widely without the aid of their ant farmers. Other animals use fungi as a partener. Fungi can be grown like a crop.
4) Infer what potential impact this fungus will have on the environment it grows in. It helps different types of animals survives.

Fungi Deployed in War on Knapweed

link: http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2006/12/28/knapweed_pla_02.html?category=earth&guid=20061228093030

The Summary: the paragraph i read about fungi was talking mainly about how some fungi helps us . The fungi was helpful in ways like finding different medications and making many medications. A scientist thought that by finding things out about fungi some of the disease that were not a easy cured could be cured with fungi.The fungus typically exists in low concentrations, but when it's cultured in a lab and sprayed in higher concentrations, it has a deadly effect.some fungi flowers that were pink and purple had a toxic effect on the land of farmers also.


Fungi Article Questions:

1) What type of lifestyle does the fungus in the article have? (Is it saprophytic, autotrophic, or parasitic?) What information lead you to this conclusion? well I'll say parasitic because it is effect in land and other things in this article
2) What benefits or problems can you foresee with this particular fungus? it is creating toxins for the soil that means its effecting the food growth.
3) List three things you learned from this article in your own words. fungi can be helpful with medicines,it can be toxic,and it is a decomposes dead organisms.
4) Infer what potential impact this fungus will have on the environment it grows in. a bad impact, because in this article it was destroying things and it was a toxin so it wasn't really helpful to us.