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Oyster mushrooms use nerve gas to paralyse tiny worms. Plus: Flame-resistant variety of cotton could cut the need for toxic fire retardants

WILDLIFE GmbH/Alamy Stock Photo

Killer mushrooms

Oyster mushrooms are delicious, but they have a little-known dark side: the fungus that produces them paralyses and kills nematode worms using a nerve gas, before sucking out their insides. We have known since the 1980s that this fungus preys on nematodes, which are microscopic roundworms, but until now how it does it has been a mystery. Read more.

Cotton that stays cool

A form of cotton that is able to resist flames has been created by breeding parent strains that had no similar characteristics themselves. This could let us make fire-resistant fabrics without having to add toxic chemicals. Read more.

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Mathieu Foulquie/Biosphoto/Minden Pictures

Right now, millions of sinuous, silvery eels are swimming determinedly across the Atlantic Ocean. They left their homes in Europe in late autumn and have been navigating westwards ever since, often swimming against the currents that once carried them the other way. Many won’t make it. But those that do have a reward awaiting them: sex and death in the Sargasso Sea. Their life cycle is fascinating and their final journey, the details of which have only recently been discovered, is jaw-dropping. Read more.

Wednesday 17 May 2023 | 6-7pm BST | 1-2pm EDT | On-demand

How did NASA build the JWST and what has it already revealed?

Join senior project scientist for JWST and Nobel prizewinning astrophysicist John C Mather as he discusses the groundbreaking James Webb Space Telescope including some of the telescope’s first discoveries.

Evolutionary biologist Marlene Zuk explains why we shouldn't attribute human motivations to animals like bees.

Thank you for reading and have a great Thursday.

Chris Simms

Assistant news editor, New Scientist

Email me at [email protected]

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