As forests burn across the US and misguided attempts to prevent fires by clear-cutting or raking the forest floor are being proposed, TUC Radio remembers the mycologist and author Paul Stamets. He is calling attention to the fact that old growth forests contain organisms that can heal us, feed us, or kill us.
More than any other scientist practicing today, Paul Stamets has dedicated himself to the life of fungi and that of their underground support system, the mycelium. Stamets says that the mycelia are soil magicians. They give rise not just to mushrooms but form an integral part of the forest ecosystem. The mycelia are disassemblers, creating the debris fields that then feed their fungal descendants. They also show purpose in choosing microbial allies, and Stamets believes they are part of the earthâs natural internet that is in constant bio-molecular communication, governing the ecosystem.
Paul Stamets has studied mushrooms for over 40 years. He discovered new species of fungi, saved ancient ones from extinction, and pioneered countless techniques of mushroom cultivation. Along the way he found many ways how fungi can be healers of people and the environment.
His premise is that that mushroom mycelium connects the immune systems between humans and environment - and that premise has been proven many times in his collaborations with scientific institutions and labs.
Paul Stamets is a frequent guest at the Bioneer conferences and at TED talks. But the so-called conventional scientists appreciate his work as well. That includes medical research into cancer as well as the University of Illinois-Chicago's Institute for Tuberculosis Research and the Department of Health and Human Services' biodefense program.
Paul Stamets for permission and Mike McCormick for recording on May 4, 2015, in Seattle, WA. Mike is host of Mind Over Matters on KEXP radio.
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