Society for Science & the Public, which publishes Science News, uses cookies to personalize your experience and improve our services. For more information on how we use cookies on our websites, visit our Cookie Policy.
Feature Life

The name of the fungus

Genetic advances spur mycologists to put their kingdom in order

DEFINING A KINGDOM  In the peculiar, shape-shifting world of fungi (Erysiphe guttata shown), a rebellion has broken out against the traditional way of naming species. 

L. R. AND C. TULASNE/SELECTA FUNGORUM CARPOLOGIA 1861

By Susan Milius

This article is only available to Science News subscribers.

Subscribers, enter your e-mail address to access our archives.

Not a subscriber?

Science News is a nonprofit.

Support us by subscribing now.

More Stories from Science News on Life

  1. tumbleweeds
    Plants

    Why tumbleweeds may be more science fiction than Old West

    By Susan Milius
  2. snowy owls, sanderlings, cactus wrens and Western meadowlarks
    Life

    We’ve lost 3 billion birds since 1970 in North America

    By Jonathan Lambert
  3. Denisovan girl drawing
    Humans

    Ancient DNA reveals the first glimpse of what a Denisovan may have looked like

    By Bruce Bower
  4. coral reef environment
    Life

    Climate change may be throwing coral sex out of sync

    By Susan Milius
  5. white-crowned sparrow
    Agriculture

    Birds fed a common pesticide lost weight rapidly and had migration delays

    By Maanvi Singh
  6. administering a polio vaccine
    Health & Medicine

    50 years ago, polio was still circulating in the United States

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  7. pollen
    Science & Society

    ‘The Nature of Life and Death’ spotlights pollen’s role in solving crimes

    By Sid Perkins
  8. person painting with paintbrush held in their toes
    Humans

    Artists who paint with their feet have ‘toe maps’ in their brains

    By Laura Sanders

From the Nature Index

Paid Content