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mycology (mander.xyz)
submitted 2 years ago by to c/science_memes@mander.xyz
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[–] 57 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Is there really a mushroom that will make your body irritated because it's so similar?

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  • [–] 41 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Honestly, I'm not a mycologist, so someone with more expertise feel free to correct me, but I'm pretty sure that's BS.

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  • [–] 110 points 2 years ago* (4 children)

    The concept of a mushroom being generally similar to humans is total horseshit. What they're probably referencing is a mushroom with some signaling protein (or saccride or steroid or something) that is coincidentally similar some human equivalent and your immune system (for some reason) freaks out about it when you eat it. Then, as is referenced, the response to the mushroom happens to also be able to target some of your own cells, and now you've got an autoimmune disorder.

    That behavior is not normal for your immune system to do, by the way, otherwise cannibals would all die from allergic reactions to their unfortunate meals. But, the immune system is complicated, so shit happens sometimes.

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  • [–] 50 points 2 years ago*

    I think that they are referring to Paxillus involotus

    It is quite an interesting mushroom. It was considered "safe to eat" for a long time, but it contains an antigen that a human's immune system can learn to attack.

    The antigen is still of unknown structure but it stimulates the formation of IgG antibodies in the blood serum.

    I once looked into whether this immune response builds up over many exposures, or if it is a random event that has a probability of happening for each exposure. I don't remember finding a convincing answer... If it is a random event, then mushroom could be considered a "Russian roulette" mushroom that will usually provide a nice meal, but, if unlucky, you may experience the following:

    Poisoning symptoms are rapid in onset, consisting initially of vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and associated decreased blood volume. Shortly after these initial symptoms appear, hemolysis develops, resulting in reduced urine output, hemoglobin in the urine or outright absence of urine formation, and anemia. Hemolysis may lead to numerous complications including acute kidney injury, shock, acute respiratory failure, and disseminated intravascular coagulation. These complications can cause significant morbidity with fatalities having been reported.

    I agree with you that this is probably unrelated to the "generally similar to humans" comment. I feel like this fantasy is a combination of the above fact mixed in with the fact that the Fungi belong to the Opisthokonts, which places them closer to animals than plants, and so they share some interesting cellular characteristics with us. This places them closer to animals than plants, but "generally similar to humans" is perhaps a bit of a stretch ^_^

    But, it is just a meme about a guy being hyped about mushrooms. Hopefully people don't expect memes to be super accurate 😁

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  • [–] 24 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    There are fungal infections that cannot be treated as there are no good targets for fungicides that don't also affect humans

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago*

    The way in which organisms recognize "their own" vs outsider stuff is a different and complex topic, at least as fascinating as fungi.

    Liquid brains, solid brains | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

    Cognitive networks have evolved a broad range of solutions to the problem of gathering, storing and responding to information. Some of these networks are describable as static sets of neurons linked in an adaptive web of connections. These are ‘solid’ networks, with a well-defined and physically persistent architecture. Other systems are formed by sets of agents that exchange, store and process information but without persistent connections or move relative to each other in physical space. We refer to these networks that lack stable connections and static elements as ‘liquid’ brains, a category that includes ant and termite colonies, immune systems and some microbiomes and slime moulds. What are the key differences between solid and liquid brains, particularly in their cognitive potential, ability to solve particular problems and environments, and information-processing strategies? To answer this question requires a new, integrative framework.

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