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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Science
Tory Shepherd

Killer fungi detectives: inside the lab that may be fighting the next pandemic

Species of the Aspergillus genus
Species of the Aspergillus genus are just one of the many fungi being researched at Australia’s National Mycological Reference Centre. Photograph: University of Adelaide

The first tray of yellow-lidded specimen jars holds chunks of flesh – lung, perhaps, or muscle – some cerebrospinal fluid and another liquid, possibly from a brain abscess. The second holds a rainbow of colourful fungi, cultivated from those specimens.

One growth is green and fluffy, like something you would find in a sharehouse fridge – penicillium, maybe. Another is a dark grey or brown, like animal fur. There are bright white fuzzballs and blackish blobs. One growth leaches red into the medium it sits in.

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