Amazing Facts about Fungi

Hey guys,
I know it has been I while since I wrote my last post and I am very sorry for that. But I will try to compensate for that with today's topic: Fungi!!! Ok, that maybe doesn't sound like an interesting topic at first, but believe me, fungi are definitely one of the most fascinating and underestimated organisms and there are plenty of astonishing things I would love to tell you about them. As some of you might know I chose botany as one of my elective subjects and I actually enjoyed it a lot. I did not only learn about plants in general but also about fungi, which brings me to the first amazing fact:

Classification

Although the vast majority of people believe that fungi are plants, they are actually not. Fungi form an independent kingdom, just like plants and animals do. While I think it is clear for everyone that fungi aren't animals, the fact that they aren't plants maybe seems to be illogical. But I can tell you it is not. There is one important thing that distinguishes them from plants: Fungi are unable to do photosynthesis because their cell structure neither features chloroplasts, nor chlorophyll.

Cell structure

As I already mentioned before, the fungi's cell structure is special in many ways, but did you know that their cell walls features one main substance, namely chitin? I am sure you have heard about that substance before - Right! It is the same substance that the insect's shell uses for stabilization.

Mycorrhizae

Did you know that the majority of basidiomycetes, which we all know as "mushrooms", live in symbiosis with trees? The scientific term for these mushrooms is "mycorrhizae fungi". This union of mushroom and tree is very beneficial for both sides. The tree receives nitrogen and phosphor from the fungus while the fungus gets glucose from the tree. This explains a lot of things, e.g. why mushrooms mostly grow in forests, or why the best season to collect them is autumn. It is quite simple: In spring and summer the tree needs a lot of glucose as fuel to grow and to form new leaves. In autumn the tree stops growing and starts to store the glucose in its roots. That means that there is a lot of glucose available for the mushroom to grow.

Penicillin 

I believe everyone has taken penicillin at least once in their life, even if you didn't know. Penicillin is the most important antibiotic used in medical treatments. It is formed by a fungi that exists in two different forms: penicillium and talaromyces. But did you know how its ability to destroy bacteria had been discovered?
The first man to discover the antimicrobial qualities of penicillium was Ernest Duchesne in the late 19th century. At a military hospital he noticed that the ostlers stored saddles in dark, humid rooms, where mould started to grow on the saddles. When he asked them why they did that, they responded that if they put these saddles on the back of horses with chafe marks, the wounds would heal better. Duchesne then prepared a solution from these fungi and tested it on sick guinea pigs. Every single guinea pig recovered after the injection.

I could continue writing for pages about how fascinating fungi are, but I don't want to bore you with too much science (hope I didn't already ...).

See you soon,
Anja

Interviewing Rachel

Do you know the beautiful, tall, dark-haired, Hungarian girl, who is mostly hiding in the back row? Since I had had a chat with her in the first lesson, I have been curious about her and was waiting for the chance to get to know her. I finally did - and wasn't disappointed. Her name is Rachel and besides being good at learning languages she is a very talented musician. After having learned how to play the piano, she then played the guitar for a couple of years before she discovered her passion: singing. In Hungary she even appeared on stage!

Hey there and welcome to my blog!

Let's start with a bit of information about myself: My name is Anja, I'm 19 years old and come from Austria, a small German-speaking country in the centre of Europe. I am currently studying languages (English and Spanish) at the Karl Franzens University in Graz. That is somehow weird because I have always wanted to become a scientist and therefore my actual plan was to study Molecular Biosciences or Chemistry after high school. However, last year I suddenly changed my mind, signed up for the language entrance exams and luckily passed them all. That is why I'm here - and I don't regret it. The course itself is quite demanding and requires, besides hours of studying, a lot of endurance. Having chosen this course, I do not have a lot of spare time.


Me at my last competition

Since I absolutely love doing sports, I still try to find time for my passion, dancing ballet, or for taking aerobic and fitness classes. I also like to run, of course, only if my injured knee allows it. I used to do rhythmic gymnastics in the past, but due to some injuries I had to quit. However, I still go to the gym frequently because I work there as a trainer for the young gymnasts. I really enjoy working with the kids. They are so adorable, active and always highly motivated to learn something new. 

Whenever my neighbor doesn't have time to ride her horse, I am the only one who is allowed to ride it. It's a crazy, young, tall mare named "Maggie". She is so tall that it's impossible for me to get on the horse from the ground and I always have to use a mounting block. 

In some very rare cases I still have an hour or two left, that I don't use for studying, doing sports, or just having a social life. These extremely rare moments I spend on watching series. My favourite one is "Breaking Bad", because it is the only series where the main character isn't a doctor, a housewife or a bitchy girl, but a chemist going nuts.

One last thing I want to mention: Please do not expect me to have a special topic for my blog. My blog will contain posts about all sorts of topics, simply because I'm curious about so many different things. 

I hope that doesn't discourage you to visit my blog once in a while ;)

All the best and see you soon,

Anja