Scientists are now growing mycelium, the fungal root network, into fire-retardant sheets to provide a safer, nontoxic way to protect buildings
In a world where fire threatens more and more homes, scientists have developed a surprising type of material that might keep some buildings safer: wafer-thin sheets of fungi.
Using a biological material like mycelium has enormous benefits, says senior author Everson Kandare. Unlike asbestos, which is still sometimes added to building materials as a fire retardant, mycelium does not shed noxious compounds when exposed to fire. “When there is a building fire, it [often] isn't the flame intensity or the heat that kills or injures people,” says Kandare, an engineer at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia.
“In order for fire to spread, it has to burn. If you're left with an area you can't burn, then that stops the fire,” says Chris Hobbs, a polymer chemist at Sam Houston State University in Texas, who was not involved in the new study but says he considers the material promising.
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