How To Accidentally Save the World (with Fungus)
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 Published On Mar 4, 2024

How did a famous lab accident end up saving more than half a billion lives…and is it even true? How did a moldy melon from Peoria, Illinois save more than half a billion lives? And what does this all have to do with using killer viruses to make people better when they’re sick?? Curiosity in the face of failure is what gave us modern antibiotics…and the viruses that just might save us from superbugs.

Fascinating Fails tells the stories of accidents in history that have resulted in some of our biggest discoveries, inventions, and breakthroughs. Following those often jaw-dropping (and sometimes hilarious) fails through time to today, host Maren Hunsberger asks: "What's next?". By talking to today's innovative young scientists, engineers, artists, and other big thinkers, we see how the mistakes of the past are leading us into the science of tomorrow...and toward a better future.

Original Production Funding Provided by National Science Foundation - Grant No. 2120006 Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
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