Fungus is world's largest living organism
June 11, 2007The fungus Armillaria ostoyae, commonly known at root rot, has become the world's largest living organism thanks to an outbreak in Prairie City, Ore.
Currently the fungus form dubbed the "humungous fungus" by the U.S. Forest Service underlies 2,200 miles of land outside the Oregon city and wildlife officials are at a loss how to stop its growth, The (Portland) Oregonian said Sunday.
With some estimates placing the fungus' age at 8,000 years old, the natural organism has had plenty of time to spread throughout the region as other life forms unknowingly moved above.
To that end, the fungus now spreads across an area equal to 1,600 football fields and is only noticeable in areas where it has claimed trees.
Experts predict the massive fungus may lose a significant portion of its mass as the victim of a major nature fire.
The Oregonian said the record-setting organism lost a portion of its bulk to a fire four years ago.
Copyright 2007 by United Press International
-
Route parasite takes to infect fish uncovered
Jan 25, 2012 |
not rated yet |
0
-
New findings about Saprolegnia infections in Norwegian salmon hatcheries
Dec 13, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
New database for vital model organism launched
Nov 28, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Study presents new insight into plant immunity
Oct 02, 2011 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
-
Structural Genomics Project creates blueprint for infectious disease and biodefense research
Sep 01, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Engineers build first sub-10-nm carbon nanotube transistor
Feb 01, 2012 |
4.9 / 5 (28) |
26
-
Something old, something new: Evolution and the structural divergence of duplicate genes
Jan 31, 2012 |
4.6 / 5 (7) |
1
-
The hidden nanoworld of ice crystals: Revealing the dynamic behavior of quasi-liquid layers
Jan 30, 2012 |
5 / 5 (3) |
1
-
Stock market network reveals investor clustering
Jan 27, 2012 |
4 / 5 (22) |
8
-
Of microchemistry and molecules: Electronic microfluidic device synthesizes biocompatible probes
Jan 26, 2012 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
More news stories
Study of diving beetles suggest sperm evolution may be driven by changes in female reproductive organs
Studying female reproductive tracts and sperm in diving beetles (Dytiscidae), researchers from the University of Arizona and Syracuse University have obtained a glimpse into a bizarre and amazing world of spe ...
12 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
|
New insight from whole-genome sequencing of Europe's 2011 E. coli outbreaks
Using whole-genome sequencing, a team led by researchers from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and the Broad Institute has traced the path of the E. coli outbreak that sickened thousands and killed over 50 people in Ger ...
12 hours ago |
4 / 5 (2) |
0
|
Redder ladybirds more deadly, say scientists
A ladybird's colour indicates how well-fed and how toxic it is, according to an international team of scientists. Research led by the Universities of Exeter and Liverpool directly shows that differences between ...
8 hours ago |
4 / 5 (4) |
0
|
New study makes key finding in stem cell self-renewal
A University of Minnesota-led research team has proposed a mechanism for the control of whether embryonic stem cells continue to proliferate and stay stem cells, or differentiate into adult cells like brain, liver or skin.
15 hours ago |
4.7 / 5 (3) |
0
|
Researchers examine consequences of non-intervention for infectious disease in African great apes
Infectious disease has joined poaching and habitat loss as a major threat to the survival of African great apes as they have become restricted to ever-smaller populations. Despite the work of dedicated conservationists, efforts ...
15 hours ago |
5 / 5 (1) |
1
|
Nicira promises virtual networks will transform networking
(PhysOrg.com) -- For the past four years, founders of the start-up company Nicira have been developing cutting-edge software that they predict will transform the networking technology underlying the Internet. ...
Navy to begin tests on electromagnetic railgun prototype launcher
The Office of Naval Research (ONR)'s Electromagnetic (EM) Railgun program will take an important step forward in the coming weeks when the first industry railgun prototype launcher is tested at a facility ...
Fossil cricket: Jurassic love song reconstructed
Some 165 million years ago, the world was host to a diversity of sounds. Primitive bushcrickets and croaking amphibians were among the first animals to produce loud sounds by stridulation (rubbing certain body parts together). ...
After Megaupload closure, BTJunkie shuts down
BTJunkie, a popular file-sharing indexing site, said Monday it was voluntarily shutting down, less than three weeks after the US closure of Megaupload in a crackdown on piracy of music, films and other materials.
Russia 'drills into' Antarctic subglacial lake
A Russian team has succeeded in drilling through four kilometres (2.5 miles) of ice to the surface of a mythical subglacial Antarctic lake which could hold as yet unknown life forms, reports said Monday.
Harnessing plasmonics, engineers weld nanowires with light
At the nano level, researchers at Stanford have discovered a new way to weld together meshes of tiny wires. Their work could lead to exciting new electronics and solar applications. To succeed, they called ...