Andrew Czaja of University of Cincinnati
When you think of fungi, what comes to mind may be a crucial ingredient in a recipe or their amazing ability to break down dead organic matter into vital nutrients. But new research by Shuhai Xiao, a professor of geosciences with the Virginia Tech College of Science, and Tian Gan, a visiting PhD student in the Xiao lab, highlights yet another important role that fungi have played throughout the Earth s history: helping the planet recover from an ice age.
A team of scientists from Virginia Tech, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guizhou Education University, and University of Cincinnati has discovered the remains of a fungi-like microfossil that emerged at the end of an ice age some 635 million years ago. It is the oldest terrestrial fossil ever found. To put it into perspective, this microfossil predates the oldest dinosaurs about three times over.
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IMAGE: Microscopic image of the fungus-like filamentous microfossils. Credit: Andrew Czaja of University of Cincinnati. view more
Credit: Credit: Andrew Czaja of University of Cincinnati.
When you think of fungi, what comes to mind may be a crucial ingredient in a recipe or their amazing ability to break down dead organic matter into vital nutrients. But new research by Shuhai Xiao, a professor of geosciences with the Virginia Tech College of Science, and Tian Gan, a visiting Ph.D. student in the Xiao lab, highlights yet another important role that fungi have played throughout the Earth s history: helping the planet recover from an ice age.
Virginia Tech hosts State of the University, prepares for students to return
Thousands of Hokies will return to Blacksburg next week
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BLACKSBURG, Va – With the start of the spring semester just days away, Virginia Tech President Tim Sands says employees are working around the clock to welcome students back to Blacksburg.
“We are building on what we learned in the fall as a ramp-up of our testing for the spring with an emphasis on mandatory random prevalence testing of students and surveillance testing of high contact employees,” Virginia Tech President Tim Sands said.
During his state of the university speech Wednesday, Sands explained that Virginia Tech is facing a $60 million dollar loss stemming from the pandemic. (Copyright 2020 by WSLS 10 - All rights reserved.)
Fatal Attraction: Bats With White-Nose Syndrome Prefer Suboptimal Habitats Despite Consequences - 8:50 am
Bats with white-nose syndrome roosting in the warmest sites have been hit particularly hard, according to a new study by researchers at Virginia Tech. Courtesy/Virginia Tech
A research team uses a swab to measure the fungal loads on each individual bat and a laser thermometer to measure the roosting temperature of the rocks next to each bat. Courtesy//Virginia Tech
By KENDALL DANIELS
Virginia Tech
Since 2006, a fungal disease called white-nose syndrome has caused sharp declines in bat populations across the eastern United States.
The fungus that causes the disease, Pseudogymnoascus destructans, thrives in subterranean habitats where bats hibernate over the winter months.