The 2021 Venice Architecture Biennale was destined to be a memorable event for a multitude of reasons. Perhaps the most obvious: it’s one of the first international events open to the public since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. After so many months of lockdowns, forced closures and virtual viewing rooms, an occasion like this—meeting with new and old peers—was undoubtedly a strange and exhilarating …
Inspired by her experimentations with Smallhold’s at-home mushroom grow kits, The New York Times writer Zoë Schlanger explores the comfort and delight millions have derived from the simple act of watching mushrooms emerge from waste. (Smallhold’s magic comes from the mycelium of wood-eating fungus buried in bricks of sawdust.) Schlanger offers instructions on caring for your countertop collection, expert insight into the mushroom economy and …
Fungi’s Many Life-Changing Uses While there are 144,000 discovered species of fungi on the planet, there could be many more—millions more, in fact. But finding fungi and sorting out whether or not they contain any useful chemical compounds comes down to chance. The serendipity, scientists argue, is what led to great discoveries like penicillin—so hope for similar-level finds persists. Recent tests may have uncovered compounds …
