The claim in the article that saccharomyces cerevisiae (brewer's yeast) naturally produced the deep blue color in the butterfly example is not actually true, although it's a gorgeous effect.
These are genetically engineered variants of brewer's yeast designed to produce pigments.
I put a load of washing on, then ended up in hospital for a year.
On return, the contents of the washing machine were pretty much this.
I would buy one, but I don’t think I have mushroom in my wardrobe for it.
Neat. Wearing some hibernating Cordyceps clothes seems like a good way to speedrun some life-imitates-art The Last of Us gain of function research.
Cordyceps, huh? An interesting choice! And ironically the subject of an article on Ars Technica that just dropped...
https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/08/parasitic-zombie-fun...
This would turn into a mould infested nightmare
Mr Stamets (both real AND fictional) must be proud as heck!
Is there a possibility of the organisms escaping the material and infesting the environment? That's what I would worry about with mycelium.
Is there an adjective for something that's nifty but also gross?
> nutrient solution is applied over a hole, along with a small patch of fresh fungus
So, not repair itself.
Pretty disgusting tbh.
I wonder if there is a health hazard wearing this due to breathing in spores or toxins released into the air? Or perhaps there is a risk that the wearer will absorb harmful chemicals secreted by the mycelium via contact with the wearer's skin? Very interesting none the less. I have imagined humans making living clothes for a long time, so it is nice to see that idea materialize.