28 min listen
Fungi
ratings:
Length:
49 minutes
Released:
Feb 15, 2018
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss fungi. These organisms are not plants or animals but a kingdom of their own. Millions of species of fungi live on the Earth and they play a crucial role in ecosystems, enabling plants to obtain nutrients and causing material to decay. Without fungi, life as we know it simply would not exist. They are also a significant part of our daily life, making possible the production of bread, wine and certain antibiotics. Although fungi brought about the colonisation of the planet by plants about 450 million years ago, some species can kill humans and devastate trees.
With:
Lynne Boddy
Professor of Fungal Ecology at Cardiff University
Sarah Gurr
Professor of Food Security in the Biosciences Department at the University of Exeter
David Johnson
N8 Chair in Microbial Ecology at the University of Manchester
Producer: Victoria Brignell.
With:
Lynne Boddy
Professor of Fungal Ecology at Cardiff University
Sarah Gurr
Professor of Food Security in the Biosciences Department at the University of Exeter
David Johnson
N8 Chair in Microbial Ecology at the University of Manchester
Producer: Victoria Brignell.
Released:
Feb 15, 2018
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
Science's Revelations: Melvyn Bragg examines whether science has ruined our sense of poetic wonder at the world. by In Our Time: Science