onlypassingthru

Neat. Wearing some hibernating Cordyceps clothes seems like a good way to speedrun some life-imitates-art The Last of Us gain of function research.

dustfinger

I wonder if there is a health hazard wearing this due to breathing in spores or toxins released into the air? Or perhaps there is a risk that the wearer will absorb harmful chemicals secreted by the mycelium via contact with the wearer's skin? Very interesting none the less. I have imagined humans making living clothes for a long time, so it is nice to see that idea materialize.

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AlanYx

The claim in the article that saccharomyces cerevisiae (brewer's yeast) naturally produced the deep blue color in the butterfly example is not actually true, although it's a gorgeous effect.

These are genetically engineered variants of brewer's yeast designed to produce pigments.

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funkygibbon

I would buy one, but I don’t think I have mushroom in my wardrobe for it.

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hercynium

Cordyceps, huh? An interesting choice! And ironically the subject of an article on Ars Technica that just dropped...

https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/08/parasitic-zombie-fun...

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kxjwidjwjdj

Mr Stamets (both real AND fictional) must be proud as heck!

sajithdilshan

This would turn into a mould infested nightmare

juancn

How does it smell though?

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andai

Could they make a house out of this?

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LoganDark

Is there a possibility of the organisms escaping the material and infesting the environment? That's what I would worry about with mycelium.

josefritzishere

Is there an adjective for something that's nifty but also gross?

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chrisjj

> nutrient solution is applied over a hole, along with a small patch of fresh fungus

So, not repair itself.

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meindnoch

Pretty disgusting tbh.