Article(s) about the Aflatoxin puzzles

Started by smortier

LociOiling Lv 1

The Aggie is published by the Associated Students at the UC Davis (ASUCD). According to the UC Davis' website, they are ranked #1 nationally in agriculture and #1 worldwide in veterinary medicine. So the aflatoxin challenge seems like a good fit.

DoctorSockrates Lv 1

The writer interviewed ya' boy a couple weeks ago actually, I was wondering when this would turn up. Looks like I'm picking up this Thursday's issue of The California Aggie for sure!

Susume Lv 1

This one has nothing to do with foldit, but suggests an answer to a question I've heard asked in chat: Why does the fungus make the aflatoxin?

"…Aflatoxin production increased an average of 1.5-fold in the presence of a single [insect] larva and nearly 3-fold when the fungus was mechanically damaged…. Our results provide the first clear evidence of a fitness advantage conferred to A. flavus by aflatoxin when interacting with insects."

Abstract here: https://datadryad.org/resource/doi:10.5061/dryad.pq365

Edited to add: What astonishes me here is that the fungus doesn't just produce aflatoxin to make life harder for bugs that might come along and eat it. It produces more aflatoxin when it is being eaten than when it isn't.

DoctorSockrates Lv 1

Wondered when it would run eventually! Part of my streaming goals is to help get the playerbase of my demographic and similar ones growing within Foldit, so that there's more incentive to keep improving the game and adapting towards the future players, not just the seasoned vets. I realize I might be pandering to the wrong crowd here with public radio, but any favorable notoriety's good news for me, and I happen to only listen to public radio whenever I commute, so it's even more of a cool opportunity for me than on the surface!