fungal

In a time when radiation exposure from a number of sources, including air travel, nuclear power, and former testing grounds seems unavoidable, any news of radio-protective substance is good news. Fortunately, emerging research is indicating that melanin in fungi, which is also the pigment responsible for skin color in humans, may not only enable some fungi to survive ionizing radiation, but also to feed off of it.

For many years, the only known link between Candida spp. infections, and cancer was that it is an opportunistic pathogen taking advantage of the immune system damage caused by chemo. Recently, new research has found that Candida albicans can actually also promote cancer by producing carcinogens, causing inflammation, increasing the response of Th17 cells, and molecular mimicry of our own immune cells.