A fungus (pl: fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from the other eukaryotic kingdoms, which, by one traditional classification, includes Plantae, Animalia, Protozoa, and Chromista.
A characteristic that places fungi in a different kingdom from plants, bacteria, and some protists is chitin in their cell walls. Fungi, like animals, are heterotrophs; they acquire their food by absorbing dissolved molecules, typically by secreting digestive enzymes into their environment. Fungi do not photosynthesize. Growth is their means of mobility, except for spores (a few of which are flagellated), which may travel through the air or water. Fungi are the principal decomposers in ecological systems. These and other differences place fungi in a single group of related organisms, named the Eumycota (true fungi or Eumycetes), that share a common ancestor (i.e. they form a monophyletic group), an interpretation that is also strongly supported by molecular phylogenetics. This fungal group is distinct from the structurally similar myxomycetes (slime molds) and oomycetes (water molds). The discipline of biology devoted to the study of fungi is known as mycology (from the Greek μύκης mykes, mushroom). In the past mycology was regarded as a branch of botany, although it is now known that fungi are genetically more closely related to animals than to plants.
Abundant worldwide, most fungi are inconspicuous because of the small size of their structures, and their cryptic lifestyles in soil or on dead matter. Fungi include symbionts of plants, animals, or other fungi and also parasites. They may become noticeable when fruiting, either as mushrooms or as molds. Fungi perform an essential role in the decomposition of organic matter and have fundamental roles in nutrient cycling and exchange in the environment. They have long been used as a direct source of human food, in the form of mushrooms and truffles; as a leavening agent for bread; and in the fermentation of various food products, such as wine, beer, and soy sauce. Since the 1940s, fungi have been used for the production of antibiotics, and, more recently, various enzymes produced by fungi are used industrially and in detergents. Fungi are also used as biological pesticides to control weeds, plant diseases, and insect pests. Many species produce bioactive compounds called mycotoxins, such as alkaloids and polyketides, that are toxic to animals, including humans. The fruiting structures of a few species contain psychotropic compounds and are consumed recreationally or in traditional spiritual ceremonies. Fungi can break down manufactured materials and buildings, and become significant pathogens of humans and other animals. Losses of crops due to fungal diseases (e.g., rice blast disease) or food spoilage can have a large impact on human food supplies and local economies.
The fungus kingdom encompasses an enormous diversity of taxa with varied ecologies, life cycle strategies, and morphologies ranging from unicellular aquatic chytrids to large mushrooms. However, little is known of the true biodiversity of the fungus kingdom, which has been estimated at 2.2 million to 3.8 million species.[5] Of these, only about 148,000 have been described, with over 8,000 species known to be detrimental to plants and at least 300 that can be pathogenic to humans.[7] Ever since the pioneering 18th and 19th century taxonomical works of Carl Linnaeus, Christiaan Hendrik Persoon, and Elias Magnus Fries, fungi have been classified according to their morphology (e.g., characteristics such as spore color or microscopic features) or physiology. Advances in molecular genetics have opened the way for DNA analysis to be incorporated into taxonomy, which has sometimes challenged the historical groupings based on morphology and other traits. Phylogenetic studies published in the first decade of the 21st century have helped reshape the classification within the fungi kingdom, which is divided into one subkingdom, seven phyla, and ten subphyla.
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My nephew's brain surgery to remove the tumor is underway. The waiting is terrible. It's going to take hours, and they're planning on probably having to do a 2nd surgery on Wednesday anyway, and even after that, we're looking at a lifetime of wondering if it's coming back, if we're lucky enough for him to survive to even experience having that threat hanging over his head. I feel so helpless, and I can't stop thinking about my friend who died of brain cancer. It was 2 and a half decades ago, but now I can't stop thinking about how his breathing sounded the day before he died. I thought the pain had faded so much, but damn, that sound is still vivid, all these years later. And now my baby nephew has a tumor in his brain too, and that sound is haunting me.
He's out of surgery and it went really, really well! The tumor came out easier than they had feared, and a 2nd surgery won't be necessary after all. So that's some really, really good news to cling to. Now we need to find out what kind of cancer it is and whether it responds well to treatment, since there are likely some cancerous cells still left behind. They can't be too aggressive where it's touching the brain for fear of causing damage. It's a medulablastoma, which I googled and saw that the 5 year survival rate for kids under 14 is 72%, so I closed the tab before I could freak myself out more. So there's a long way still to go, but at least the surgery went really well. My brother said the surgeon was smiling and really happy, and she'd been very serious up to that point, so that's a good sign. She's also confident that he won't have complications from the surgery, but we won't know for sure for a while. He's so little, it's hard to say what all this is going to do to his development. But at least today went well.
cw, death
My friend is dead. Heart attack last week. I haven't stopped crying.
Liberals in 2020: chapo trap house a cryptofascist because they made fun of Kamala once
Liberals in 2022: is a person a nazi just because they worship nazi collaborationists and multiple nazi symbols tattood on their body?
My grandmother passed away this morning (she was 97, it was expected), and right now I'm contemplating whether to call my mother to yell at her for interrupting my father on the phone, when he was telling me his mother died, to tell him to tell me she died while eating breakfast. She then texted me to repeat that info to me. Hey lady, why don't you be a little more sensitive to your husbands emotions instead of gossiping about how your mother-in-law died.
I have lightbulbs that can change color. So yesterday after pushing myself exercising I set the light in my bathroom to dark green and took a cold shower while eating an orange. Just letting the rinds fall to the floor as I muched and returned to monkey. I'm not sure what part of that did it but today my hair is so darn soft.
A biochemistry degree got me a job out of college, but I've come to realize that I owe literally everything after that to 1. being able to type fast (~95 wpm) 2. teaching myself intermediate Excel (formulas, macros, etc.) 3. knowing how to convey emotion appropriately in an email, which is like 90% proper use of punctuation and 4. being very good at making myself look busy. People at work think I'm some kind of wizard and they must never learn the truth.
The core of my job is python and sql based, but so often I'm roped into making excel sheets that are more manageable for the business and marketing degree people that I'm convinced I could probably find a place that will let me do that full-time. Also incredible that a chunk of the population seems to have jobs that are almost exclusively making spreadsheets but don't know how to use excel?
My manager's job is almost entirely typing and sending emails and he types at like 15 wpm with two fingers. He's been here for 40 years.
I had a boomer supervisor maybe 4 or 5 years ago who literally could not type. He would just holler at the front desk person to come take dictation from him when he needed to send an email. Which was all the fucking time because this was a law office and he was an actual lawyer. He would also frequently take naps at his desk. Guy did not last long, but it was truly astonishing. A living relic of another time. Sometimes I wonder what became of him. I like to think he just hopped in his time machine and zipped back to a simpler time. Legend.
I get paid a lot of money to clean up people's Excel messes. Power Query may as well be black magic in most finance and accounting departments.
My boss: "you have a large skillset but you'll fund the thing that gives you job security is that most of the population can't google or read documentation"
Yeah, I basically have a job because most people would rather just do some mundane overcomplicated task in excel that takes 8 hours every month. I am industriously lazy and don't want to do any of that shit, so I will spend 7 hours putting together a new solution that takes 1 hour to run.
The real black magic is learning how to parameterize a SQL query in Power Query where the parameters are in Excel. I have workbooks where the user inputs the parameters of the query into Excel, hits a little VBA button that refreshes the query, and PQ grabs all of the individual cells with the parameters and drops them into the SQL query. Load that shit into Power Pivot, create a simple data model, and pull it out using CUBE formulas. Slap on a little VBA if you need to create multiple versions of that one report to loop through all of the different outputs.
I think I need to learn the Power Automate stuff next to really elimate the majority of what is left of my workload lol.
Chunka Luta fundraiser is now at 10k with supposedly a pending 7500 donation on top of that this is so fuckin wild.
Our goal was originally 5k by end of month.
spoiler
the cute girl I like asked me if I wanted to go to a show tonight!!
I low key do not feel up to it today but I think ima grab a quick shower chug an energy drink and force myself
Yes I'm that MF who will edit his post if I feel I chose the wrong emote, do somethin!
Mr. Softie has the zoomies rn and he's playing with his toy mouse. Some days I swear the cat is going to die then he just bounces back and is himself. Having an old cat is nerve wracking.
He is, I take care of him the best I can, he's always loved.
The most small business tyrant thing I've experienced was having to write down what I was doing every 15 minutes on a "productivity sheet"
i'm too lazy and incompetent to supervise you, so i'm going to require you to supervise yourself and i'll provide supervision over that
It takes most people 45 minutes to fully enter a flow state and any notification or beep can restart that timer even if you dont look. Imagine sabatoging your employees to that extent.
Felt this this morning but then I realized ah damn I'm still AmeriKKKan and it brought the whole thing down