Why are not plants?
Fungi come in a wide variety of forms and life cycles. As a consequence it is very hard to classify them.
In the past, fungi were classed as plants and only after in-depth studies the features that distinguished them from both vegetal organisms and all the other eukaryote organisms were discovered, so that they could be considered as belonging to a completely different kingdom.
One of the first essential differences from plants is that fungi are heterotrophic; secondly, their cellular walls are composed of chitin, a carbohydrate that lacks in plants but can be found in the external skeleton of insects and crustaceans. In addition, fungi can store glycogen as a reserve material just like animals do.
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International Polar Bear Day, set up by Polar Bears International, a non-profit organisation, was held on 27 February. The aim…
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Charles Darwin was just 22 years old when he set sail on board HMS Beagle...
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Let's discover together stories and legends about the Christmas Star...
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Can you be intelligent without a brain? The answer is "in a certain sense, yes" and this is demonstrated by…
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Japanese beetles and other alien species
There is a beetle that has been invading the Italian countryside and cities for some time now, a small insect…
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8 March 2022
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DNA was first isolated by Friedrich Miescher, a Swiss biochemist in 1869. It was a brilliant, but not complicated operation:…
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27 February 2022
In search of the riders of icebergs
International Polar Bear Day, set up by Polar Bears International, a non-profit organisation, was held on 27 February. The aim…
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From the Multimedia section
Facts
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Bread and cheese, wine or beer
Yeast is used to make wine, beer and bread. When mixed with the bread dough...
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Who lives well with low oxygen?
<i><span style="font-style: normal; " class="Apple-style-span"><i><em>Aquandriella fermentas</em> </i>lives in stagnant waters and can stand complete anaerobiosis...</span></i>
Responsible for fish-plagues
<em>Sporolegnia parasitica</em> is widely present in estuaries and fish tanks and that...
-
Bacteria as Sherlock Holmes
A drop of blood, a fragment of skin or a hair found on the scene of a crime can supply…
-
Bread and cheese, wine or beer
Yeast is used to make wine, beer and bread. When mixed with the bread dough...
-
Who lives well with low oxygen?
<i><span style="font-style: normal; " class="Apple-style-span"><i><em>Aquandriella fermentas</em> </i>lives in stagnant waters and can stand complete anaerobiosis...</span></i>
Responsible for fish-plagues
<em>Sporolegnia parasitica</em> is widely present in estuaries and fish tanks and that...
-
Bread and cheese, wine or beer
Yeast is used to make wine, beer and bread. When mixed with the bread dough...