This would turn into a mould infested nightmare
The claim in the article that saccharomyces cerevisiae (brewer's yeast) naturally produced the deep blue color in the butterfly example is not actually true, although it's a gorgeous effect.<p>These are genetically engineered variants of brewer's yeast designed to produce pigments.
I wonder if there is a health hazard wearing this due to breathing in spores or toxins released into the air? Or perhaps there is a risk that the wearer will absorb harmful chemicals secreted by the mycelium via contact with the wearer's skin? Very interesting none the less. I have imagined humans making living clothes for a long time, so it is nice to see that idea materialize.
I would buy one, but I don’t think I have mushroom in my wardrobe for it.
How does it smell though?
Is there a possibility of the organisms escaping the material and infesting the environment? That's what I would worry about with mycelium.
Could they make a house out of this?
Is there an adjective for something that's nifty but also gross?
Blursed!
I'm not sure it's any more objectively gross than normal textile materials. Imagine you lived in a hairless, furless world where nothing like wool was a thing, and then suddenly we discovered a weird fluffy mammal that extruded long fibers out of its flesh; the people of that world might call that gross, we'd just call it ordinary.
> nutrient solution is applied over a hole, along with a small patch of fresh fungus<p>So, <i>not</i> repair itself.