• Question: Is it true that fungi can kill viruses

    Asked by anon-273275 to Jake, Lauren, Hayley, Neil on 7 Dec 2020.
    • Photo: Lauren McNaughton

      Lauren McNaughton answered on 7 Dec 2020:

      Good question! Fungi are better known for their ability to kill bacteria by producing antibiotics. For example, the fungus Penicillium chrysogenum produces the antibiotic penicillin, which is used a lot in medicine. Fungi do have some ways to help kill off viruses. It’s quite a new idea that we might be able to use some of these to fight off viruses in humans!

    • Photo: Jake

      Jake answered on 7 Dec 2020: last edited 7 Dec 2020 9:59 am

      Some of the antibiotics we use, like Penicillin, come from fungi. Unfortunately, these don’t usually work on viruses, which is why we often have to rely on vaccines to protect us instead.

    • Photo: Hayley and the Mars Rover

      Hayley and the Mars Rover answered on 10 Dec 2020:

      A virus is the simplest of germs. It is just genetic material and protein. Fungi are more complicated, they have cells!

      It is possible that fungi contain or produce things that can destroy viruses, but this is an new area of science that is still being thought about and worked on!

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