Our warm-blooded natures
November 29, 2021 10:56 PM Subscribe
It's time to fear the fungi - "Scientists assumed that the spread was due to human travel, but when they sequenced the cases, they were surprised to find that these strains weren't closely related at all. Instead, scientists were seeing multiple, independent infections of an unknown fungal disease, emerging around the world, all at the same time. About a third of people infected with Candida auris die from the infection within 30 days, and there have now been thousands of cases in 47 countries. Some scientists think this sudden boom in global cases is a harbinger of things to come."[1,2,3,4]
Well that was horrifying
posted by Cusp at 1:27 AM on November 30, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by Cusp at 1:27 AM on November 30, 2021 [6 favorites]
Hmm. That's the last time a mushroom is coming into my house.
posted by dutchrick at 2:58 AM on November 30, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by dutchrick at 2:58 AM on November 30, 2021 [6 favorites]
Gaia's not messing around.
posted by acb at 4:15 AM on November 30, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by acb at 4:15 AM on November 30, 2021 [5 favorites]
I think it's in his movie about "Antartica" in which Werner Herzog intones that "we will be regulated" by climate catastrophe. I think of that phrase often. We live in the natural world but it sure as f**k is not all about us.
posted by Sheydem-tants at 4:19 AM on November 30, 2021 [21 favorites]
posted by Sheydem-tants at 4:19 AM on November 30, 2021 [21 favorites]
Having the great misfortune of living with histoplasmosis for several months after breathing in bat poop impregnated with mycelial spores in the equatorial jungle of Ecuador, this stuff is no joke!
posted by tarantula at 5:05 AM on November 30, 2021 [19 favorites]
posted by tarantula at 5:05 AM on November 30, 2021 [19 favorites]
I read something once that speculated a connection between Alzheimer’s and fungal infection. I often wonder about that and other potentially undiscovered links between fungus and human disease.
Anyway, thanks for the dread.
posted by Don.Kinsayder at 5:39 AM on November 30, 2021 [5 favorites]
Anyway, thanks for the dread.
posted by Don.Kinsayder at 5:39 AM on November 30, 2021 [5 favorites]
MetaFilter: anyway, thanks for the dread.
posted by Foosnark at 6:09 AM on November 30, 2021 [65 favorites]
posted by Foosnark at 6:09 AM on November 30, 2021 [65 favorites]
So the planet earth part with the zombie ants and that game that used the idea for fungal human zombies is... getting more and more likely? Great.
posted by Grither at 6:34 AM on November 30, 2021
posted by Grither at 6:34 AM on November 30, 2021
If you haven't read The Girl With All The Gifts, you should! It's good.
posted by meese at 6:47 AM on November 30, 2021 [10 favorites]
posted by meese at 6:47 AM on November 30, 2021 [10 favorites]
Out here in the desert southwest, Valley Fever is a thing. It infects people and it especially affects dogs. It’s a fungus that lives in the soil, and then when the soil is disturbed by things like building projects, it gets scattered. Dogs are low to the ground and they like to root and sniff at the soil so they are vulnerable. Most people and dogs that get the pathogen end up with no ill effects. However, some that get infected end up suffering badly. It attacks the lungs and also the joints (if a dog comes in with an unexplained limp, the vet typically tells the owner they want to do a Valley Fever test.) It can be fatal and the infection is a bitch to clear.
And here’s the rub. The typical treatment is fluconazole. This medication a few years back was incredibly cheap. However, there is now only one company making it and the price has skyrocketed. This is an obvious problem for people who don’t have insurance or who have less than good insurance. For dogs, it has resulted in a lot of “financial euthanasia,” which is when an owner puts down a dog because they can’t afford the treatment.
Cheap anti fungal drugs are something that’s going to be in short supply if we find we start having trouble with these kinds of infections and that makes me nervous. Perhaps this is something that mRNA vaccines can target but I don’t know. I’ve long suspected that fungal infections could become a big problem in the future and there’s a good chance that we’re going to start out with no real way to treat them for a while.
(In the “good news” department, the University of Arizona has been working on a Valley Fever vaccine, and they’re far enough along that they’re ready to test it. Research on thing kind of thing could prove to be an invaluable starting point in the future.)
posted by azpenguin at 7:07 AM on November 30, 2021 [21 favorites]
And here’s the rub. The typical treatment is fluconazole. This medication a few years back was incredibly cheap. However, there is now only one company making it and the price has skyrocketed. This is an obvious problem for people who don’t have insurance or who have less than good insurance. For dogs, it has resulted in a lot of “financial euthanasia,” which is when an owner puts down a dog because they can’t afford the treatment.
Cheap anti fungal drugs are something that’s going to be in short supply if we find we start having trouble with these kinds of infections and that makes me nervous. Perhaps this is something that mRNA vaccines can target but I don’t know. I’ve long suspected that fungal infections could become a big problem in the future and there’s a good chance that we’re going to start out with no real way to treat them for a while.
(In the “good news” department, the University of Arizona has been working on a Valley Fever vaccine, and they’re far enough along that they’re ready to test it. Research on thing kind of thing could prove to be an invaluable starting point in the future.)
posted by azpenguin at 7:07 AM on November 30, 2021 [21 favorites]
This speculative vision, called Fortitude, seems apt to promote sweet dreams.
https://www.imdb.com/video/vi2081861401?playlistId=tt3498622&ref_=tt_pr_ov_vi
posted by mule98J at 7:28 AM on November 30, 2021 [1 favorite]
https://www.imdb.com/video/vi2081861401?playlistId=tt3498622&ref_=tt_pr_ov_vi
posted by mule98J at 7:28 AM on November 30, 2021 [1 favorite]
There is a classic Dungeons and Dragons series of scenarios ("modules"), the Temple of Elemental Evil, whose big baddie is the "Demon Queen of Fungi." I always found that very silly. I guess I was wrong.
posted by ElKevbo at 8:02 AM on November 30, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by ElKevbo at 8:02 AM on November 30, 2021 [5 favorites]
Oh great, another plague we can do nothing about but fear. Maybe we do not need this news now to add to anxiety and depression which I already have as have many others.
posted by mermayd at 8:07 AM on November 30, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by mermayd at 8:07 AM on November 30, 2021 [1 favorite]
Since we're officially in the worst timeline, does this mean Paul Stamets is about to become a supervillain?
posted by deadaluspark at 8:15 AM on November 30, 2021 [8 favorites]
posted by deadaluspark at 8:15 AM on November 30, 2021 [8 favorites]
Cheap anti fungal drugs are something that’s going to be in short supply if we find we start having trouble with these kinds of infections and that makes me nervous.
Some capitalist has probably already bought the only company that's been efficiently humming in the background for the past 50 years, still making the pills at fractions of a cent per dose. Then, while the infections are still rare, they apply for orphan status and gain exclusive access to a common and unpatented drug. Once they have the exclusive rights they can jack up the prices to hundreds of dollars. Cashing in on human misery was never so easy!
posted by Your Childhood Pet Rock at 8:24 AM on November 30, 2021 [6 favorites]
Some capitalist has probably already bought the only company that's been efficiently humming in the background for the past 50 years, still making the pills at fractions of a cent per dose. Then, while the infections are still rare, they apply for orphan status and gain exclusive access to a common and unpatented drug. Once they have the exclusive rights they can jack up the prices to hundreds of dollars. Cashing in on human misery was never so easy!
posted by Your Childhood Pet Rock at 8:24 AM on November 30, 2021 [6 favorites]
I read most of TFA.
It's a bit alarmist. Not to claim that increased incidence of fungal infections isn't happening, but no need to pile on the doomscroll topics. Sufficient unto the day are the troubles thereof &c. Doubtless fungal pathogen illnesses should get more research funding. There should also be more funding for deflecting killer asteroid impacts.
posted by Aardvark Cheeselog at 8:30 AM on November 30, 2021 [2 favorites]
It's a bit alarmist. Not to claim that increased incidence of fungal infections isn't happening, but no need to pile on the doomscroll topics. Sufficient unto the day are the troubles thereof &c. Doubtless fungal pathogen illnesses should get more research funding. There should also be more funding for deflecting killer asteroid impacts.
posted by Aardvark Cheeselog at 8:30 AM on November 30, 2021 [2 favorites]
This article is basically an unacknowledged regurgitation of this episode of Radiolab from September 2020.
It's definitely an interesting theory. The Radiolab episode emphasized more strongly the advantage that mammals may have had in the immediate aftermath of the asteroid that ended the reign of the dinosaurs.
The impact would have created a "nuclear winter" scenario, where clouds of ash and dust in the atmosphere blocked out much of the sun's light for years. This would have led to massive plant and animal die-offs... and all that dead stuff would have been a giant buffet for fungi.
So while cold-blooded reptiles might seem to have an advantage in a colder world, they were unable to rid themselves of fungal infections without basking in the sun to heat their bodies up. Mammals, by contrast, maintained a core temperature that kept them largely free of fungal infections. That may be the real reason that our ancestors made it thru that era, while most of the dinos didn't.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 8:42 AM on November 30, 2021 [11 favorites]
It's definitely an interesting theory. The Radiolab episode emphasized more strongly the advantage that mammals may have had in the immediate aftermath of the asteroid that ended the reign of the dinosaurs.
The impact would have created a "nuclear winter" scenario, where clouds of ash and dust in the atmosphere blocked out much of the sun's light for years. This would have led to massive plant and animal die-offs... and all that dead stuff would have been a giant buffet for fungi.
So while cold-blooded reptiles might seem to have an advantage in a colder world, they were unable to rid themselves of fungal infections without basking in the sun to heat their bodies up. Mammals, by contrast, maintained a core temperature that kept them largely free of fungal infections. That may be the real reason that our ancestors made it thru that era, while most of the dinos didn't.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 8:42 AM on November 30, 2021 [11 favorites]
The endo/ecto-therm theory is cool but I was under the impression that there was still a lot of debate over exactly how dino metabolism and thermoregulation worked? And that one should not simply assume they were all cold-blooded?
Anyway this article is gross and scary but I assume this would be like most other medical issues where once it becomes a bigger problem it will attract more funding and research interest. Granted in a more reasonable world we'd be taking steps to mitigate fungal infections preemptively but whatever, humans gunna human. And since fungi are also critical to allow all the essential-for-life biogeochemical cycles (carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, etc.) to work I can't be too down on them.
posted by Wretch729 at 8:59 AM on November 30, 2021 [2 favorites]
Anyway this article is gross and scary but I assume this would be like most other medical issues where once it becomes a bigger problem it will attract more funding and research interest. Granted in a more reasonable world we'd be taking steps to mitigate fungal infections preemptively but whatever, humans gunna human. And since fungi are also critical to allow all the essential-for-life biogeochemical cycles (carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, etc.) to work I can't be too down on them.
posted by Wretch729 at 8:59 AM on November 30, 2021 [2 favorites]
Hmm. That's the last time a mushroom is coming into my house.
They cannot enter if you don't invite them! Garlic and butter are your best tools...
posted by zerobyproxy at 10:21 AM on November 30, 2021 [10 favorites]
They cannot enter if you don't invite them! Garlic and butter are your best tools...
posted by zerobyproxy at 10:21 AM on November 30, 2021 [10 favorites]
Rose Eveleth: There are very few places where evidence of fungi, or fungal infections, has been preserved in the fossil record—not because they weren't present, but because fungi tend to be squishy and degradable, not ideal for turning into fossils.
There is nifty evidence from 48 mya that zombie ants were being brain controlled by a fungus similar to today's Ophiocordyceps unilateralis. This was flagged for me earlier today by reading Merlin Sheldrake's Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures. A ratherresistance is useless more positive view of living with our fungal overlords.
posted by BobTheScientist at 11:05 AM on November 30, 2021 [4 favorites]
There is nifty evidence from 48 mya that zombie ants were being brain controlled by a fungus similar to today's Ophiocordyceps unilateralis. This was flagged for me earlier today by reading Merlin Sheldrake's Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures. A rather
posted by BobTheScientist at 11:05 AM on November 30, 2021 [4 favorites]
Just wanted to point out that in mycology circles Paul Stamets is already considered a supervillain.
posted by misterpatrick at 11:17 AM on November 30, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by misterpatrick at 11:17 AM on November 30, 2021 [5 favorites]
Given how tough it was to get rid of athlete's foot on the _outside_ of my body, getting a fungal infection on the inside sounds horrifying.
On the plus side, it's not contagious so any response to an "outbreak" are not going to look like the current pandemic. You may be wearing a mask though.
posted by meowzilla at 12:16 PM on November 30, 2021 [1 favorite]
On the plus side, it's not contagious so any response to an "outbreak" are not going to look like the current pandemic. You may be wearing a mask though.
posted by meowzilla at 12:16 PM on November 30, 2021 [1 favorite]
Just wanted to point out that in mycology circles Paul Stamets is already considered a supervillain
My interests are only amateur, but I hadn't picked up on this from any of my reading. Having said that, I found the recent documentary film became somewhat over-effusive about the benefits of mycopsychopharmacy towards the end. Is there more to his supervillaincy than that? Care to elaborate?
posted by illongruci at 1:35 PM on November 30, 2021 [1 favorite]
My interests are only amateur, but I hadn't picked up on this from any of my reading. Having said that, I found the recent documentary film became somewhat over-effusive about the benefits of mycopsychopharmacy towards the end. Is there more to his supervillaincy than that? Care to elaborate?
posted by illongruci at 1:35 PM on November 30, 2021 [1 favorite]
Speaking as a mycologist, if another person sends me a link to Stamets's TED Talk, I will scream. He's a supervillain for THAT.
In terms of the effect of global warming on fungi, we have plenty of other things to worry about besides human infection. More hurricanes mean more spread of airborne spores. Warmer winters mean greater overwintering survival of fungal pathogens. Warmer spring weather means earlier starts to plant disease epidemics.
posted by acrasis at 4:25 PM on November 30, 2021 [4 favorites]
In terms of the effect of global warming on fungi, we have plenty of other things to worry about besides human infection. More hurricanes mean more spread of airborne spores. Warmer winters mean greater overwintering survival of fungal pathogens. Warmer spring weather means earlier starts to plant disease epidemics.
posted by acrasis at 4:25 PM on November 30, 2021 [4 favorites]
‘Attack Of The Mushroom People’ anyone?
posted by Gadgetenvy at 5:46 PM on November 30, 2021
posted by Gadgetenvy at 5:46 PM on November 30, 2021
Since we're officially in the worst timeline, does this mean Paul Stamets is about to become a supervillain?
Hey, now. Let's let him perfect the spore drive, just as, you know, a back up plan.
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:00 PM on November 30, 2021 [1 favorite]
Hey, now. Let's let him perfect the spore drive, just as, you know, a back up plan.
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:00 PM on November 30, 2021 [1 favorite]
On the plus side, it's not contagious so any response to an "outbreak" are not going to look like the current pandemic. You may be wearing a mask though.
Likely not. We already almost all, at least in cities, should be wearing masks outside and filtering indoor air based on just what we know about the pollution hazards from car exhaust and industry yet nobody does. Hell we can barely bring ourselves to stop drinking lead.
posted by srboisvert at 9:48 PM on November 30, 2021
Likely not. We already almost all, at least in cities, should be wearing masks outside and filtering indoor air based on just what we know about the pollution hazards from car exhaust and industry yet nobody does. Hell we can barely bring ourselves to stop drinking lead.
posted by srboisvert at 9:48 PM on November 30, 2021
This is not the first time I've seen mushroom people be weird about mentioning Stamets, with no real explanation wtf. Like, if he is some serial abuser / missing stair, let's hear it. If this is just some dumb inside-baseball joke, maybe you should make that clear.
posted by ryanrs at 12:54 PM on December 1, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by ryanrs at 12:54 PM on December 1, 2021 [3 favorites]
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They didn't really explain how the connected cases arose, I believe. So the project to map the set of underground roads taken by fungi will help us better understand our potential future overlords.
posted by rongorongo at 11:36 PM on November 29, 2021 [6 favorites]