Fungal textile ‘cleans and repairs itself’

SHENZHEN — Researchers at the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology (SIAT) have developed a living textile from the parasitic fungus Cordyceps militaris that they claim can repair damage, renew its surface and break down rapidly at end of life.

According to a new study in the journal Science Advances, the work, led by Ke Li at Chinese Academy of Sciences, preserves the metabolic activity of fungal mycelium in cohesive films produced via a low-energy process.