fungi: The New Frontier - Us and them
In this final episode by BBC Sounds, Tim Hayward tries to grow a lion’s mane mushroom. He then finds out about a “body snatcher” fungus that hijacks ants and manipulates their behaviour - which makes him wonder about what the complex chemical compounds produced by fungi might do to humans. He investigates the new wave of research interest around psilocybin, an alkaloid found in many species of fungi - and the significant promise these compounds are showing as potential treatments for addiction, PTSD, anxiety and even dementia - and then gets a look at a cutting-edge research lab growing medicinal mushrooms in the forests of Finland.
