Is the salvation of our world hidden in a mushroom?

Scientists have been working for a long time to make mushrooms have wider uses. When we come to today and beyond, we see that most of the works are more concrete solutions to many social and even universal problems.

Firms are intensively trying to integrate mushroom-based products into their production wheels.

Of course, the mushrooms we are talking about here are not just the edible tops, but rather the networks of mycelium under the ground. By processing this netroots, which enables the mushroom to connect under the ground, very strong and still very light products can be obtained.

It was discovered that a fungus found in the Amazon forests grinds polyurethane hard plastics and uses them as food.

Of course, the mycelium is not limited to these features. The things that these network roots need, which feed the fungus, are quite simple and economical. Water, air, and readily available food sources. Some of these food sources are; potato skins, kitchen scraps, compost, garbage, coffee mugs (yes, you know the cup), textiles, and industrial waste.

Since mushrooms are a wide variety of creatures, some species can produce food from all these sources. Some species can even use and destroy toxic metals, arsenic, and even radioactive waste as food. In 2011, it was discovered that a fungus found in the Amazon forest grinds polyurethane hard plastics and uses them as food.

As for the other features of the mycelium. We said its first feature is its strength and lightness, another feature is that it can be enlarged as desired.

It is quite easy to achieve the desired shaping by using molds even while growing. In this way, it is possible to use it in a wide area, from plastic-free bags in their simplest form to complex wall blocks.

By the way, it has already been used in these areas for years. In recent years, it has started to be used in more tangible products, the main topic of this article is that mushrooms are starting to find a place in the products we use frequently in our daily life.

Shoes, clothes, vases, lamps, tables, and chairs are the products that we use constantly in our daily lives, and in recent years, mushroom-based products are preferred by designers who attach importance to the environmental approach, both economically and because they do not harm the environment.

However, one of the main points of interest is the idea that it is possible to create a habitable surface on Mars thanks to mushrooms.

Scientists think that it is not so difficult to create a more suitable soil surface for humans on the surface of Mars, thanks to fungal species, and they have already started to develop concept studies.

It should not be forgotten that these efforts will yield results after many years. Returning to Earth again, mushrooms are already among the solutions used to increase soil cover productivity and clean up the environment.

One of the best examples is the use of “oil-eating” mushrooms to clean up contaminated soil after the world's largest oil spill affecting the Equatorial rainforest.

Of course, the potential in the mushroom universe, which has 1.4 million species, does not end there. Mushrooms, which have come into focus with their rapidly spreading use in the fields of medicine, medicine, and biotechnology, have also become popular with their resistance to viruses and microbes.

In short, the days when we can say that mushrooms are our savior and our future does not seem far away.