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13.15
Level III life: Fungi
 
   
  Breath anywhere in the temperate zones of planet Earth and you will ingest hundreds of thousands of fungal spores. Breath around the tropical equator and you will be ingesting millions more.  
  Wherever one such spore lands on a suitable food source, it will begin to grow, breaking down the food source and absorbing nutrients from it.  
  That is why bread goes mouldy, fallen fruit and timber rots and meat goes off quickly with a foul odour.  
  Science classes the fungi that produce these changes- SAPROTROPHS- organisms that live on the dead bodies or waste of other organisms. Their food is the bacteria that live on the dead bodies or waste of other organisms, breaking down molecular structures into amino acids and polymers.  
 
  Science unfortunately tends to blur the distinction and describe bacteria as the source of human infection from mouldy food, rather than the combination of bacteria and their hungry predators as the source of infection.  
  Some of the saprotrophs turn cannibalistic and eat their own or fresh living cells. We call these parasitic fungi.  
13.15.1 Fungi- the difference between plants and animals  
  In most simplified science books, fungi is often classed as a family of the plant type cell. In fact, no fungi can synthesize carbon compounds from carbon dioxide gas as plants can. Therefore fungi should not be considered a plant, but an animal.  
13.15.2 Fungi- the origin of fungi  
  Before we discuss classes of Saprotroph and Parasite Fungi, there is the question of origin of fungi and its evolutionary position in the universe of cellular matter.  
  Because many science books place fungi as plants, it has historically been assumed that fungi evolved early. However, its behaviour provides clues to its purpose and reason of origin.  
  By far the largest class of fungi exist in the Saprotroph category such as simple, single cell yeasts.  
  Their behaviour is the feasting of bacteria, eating dead or dying cells. Ecoli (name of the bacteria). The greater the level of bacteria, the greater the conditions for fungi. As a microscopic animal, its behaviour points to a survival life form of dead land bodies compared to algae (dead sea water bodies).  
  Their existence is based on the assumption of a period of mass death of land based animals and plants. From this we can deduce a period of emergence, a golden age of fungi on Earth corresponding to the first great land exterminations of forests and animals around 300m to 400m years ago.  
  Thus we will see in Chapter 17 that fungi is a relatively recent organism compared to plant cells.  
13.15.3 The importance of these understandings  
  An ancient travelers tale of good health known to the Roman and Greeks was the drinking of their own urine. To modern humans, the idea is greeted with sour face and abhorrence.  
  However, unless we understand the nature of saprotroph fungi such as yeast that is present along with the e-coli in urine, then the reason for such behaviour may appear a misguided antiquity.  
  Yeast fungi is the natural predator of ecoli and other predatory bacteria that lives of the carcase of dead or dying cells. They eat ecoli and need a helpful environment. When consuming your urine, you are doubling the level of yeast cells in your digestive system.  
  The yeast thrives on the ecoli bacteria and you enhance your resistance to infections from unhygienic conditions such as cholera, dysentery.  
  The importance is simply that different types of saprotroph yeast cells are a natural predatorily enemy to the bacteria that make us sick.  
  Bacteria may overcome human constructed molecules that fail to keep pace with the fashion of nature and constant change. But specific classes of contemporary fungi has the potential to wipe out a whole host of bacterial and therefore human diseases.  
  The relationship is simple and profound. Within your local ecosystem, bacteria modify to their conditions. That is why colds or bacterial infections appear different in different places on the globe. Yet within the same environment lives the natural enemy of these bacteria.  
  Eating mouldy bread occasionally is not bad, but could be helpful in warding off certain colds. We need to call upon our fungi to assist on occasions to maintain good health. Too much, or lack of personal hygiene and fungi itself can become the parasite, such as tinea, crotch rot, heat rash.  
  Overall though, a thousand times more important than pills or vitamin supplements, moulds of certain varieties are valuable.  
  Certain algae are the same. Especially in dead fish. One of the healthiest sources of good algae is seaweed products that have not been overly processed. This is why fish is good in the diet. Not because of protein, but because certain algae in moderation are the natural predatorily enemy to bacteria that cause a range of human diseases.  
  Algae and fungi is part of natures tool kit to staying health against bacterial infection.  
  In today's world the need to fight bacteria is increasingly important as humans live in houses effectively designed to be bacterial breading cribs. At the same time, any moulds are considered a sign of poor house cleanliness.  
  In the bacteria world level of life and human health- fresh fish and some yeast products are our most potent medicines against bacterial infection.  
 
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