Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I cover the living world, from microbes to ecosystems. Decomposer fungi are central to breaking down dead material across ...

Peter Kennedy is an associate professor at the University of Minnesota focusing on biology teaching and learning, ecology, evolution, behavior and plant and microbial biology. Kennedy is visiting from ...

A nimble parent may be able to change a nappy in moments, but the end-product can languish in a landfill for centuries. Now ...

Soil fungi are the primary decomposers in temperate forests. Scientists found that fungi species reared in nitrogen polluted soils were able to decompose far less plant material than the same species ...

Have you recently been out on a hike in Summit County? Did you have the feeling that you were being watched? Believe it or not, you were surrounded by the FBI. Not the Federal Bureau of Investigation, ...

Through a combination of lab and field experiments, researchers have developed a better understanding of the factors accounting for different wood decomposition rates among fungi. The new findings ...

That’s right, you heard me—there are mushrooms that live in the sea. OK, well technically a mushroom is a fruiting body of a fungus with a cap, stem and gills, but lets take some dramatic liberties ...

Fungi are neither plants nor animals. The kingdom fungi is one of the six kingdoms of life, along with plants, animals, protists, bacteria and archaea. Molds and yeasts are part of the kingdom fungi, ...