Dear Fungal enthusiast,
As some of you are thinking or heading to your summer holidays, we’re planning our month of September, and would to see you in one of the events we’re hosting or partnering with.
🇺🇸 Climate Week NYC — Friday 25th September, New York City, Pier 57
We’ll be hosting a MycoStories event during the world’s largest climate event, running alongside UN General Assembly week. We’ll spend the afternoon discussing fungal conservation and innovation. We’re finalizing the programme and opening up partnership opportunities to start-ups, research centres, corporates and investors.
👉 Reach out if you’re interested in collaborating or showcasing your company/project.
🇮🇳 Shroom Sabha — 4 to 6 September, Karnataka, India
India’s first and only festival dedicated entirely to fungi returns for its third edition, blending guided mushroom forays, cultivation workshops, microscopy, fermentation, mushroom feasts, live music, and art. A community-founded, non-profit festival, Shroom Sabha reinvests proceeds into building India’s fungal movement through education, ecological stewardship, research, and future community initiatives. We’re proud to be partnering with the team behind it. This is exactly the kind of grassroots, community-driven effort that helps people reconnect with the natural world.
🇬🇧 All Things Fungi Festival — 18 to 20 September, Chiddinglye Estate, U.K
Closer to home, this three-day gathering covers mushroom identification, cultivation, microscopy and the soil food web, alongside permaculture and rewilding sessions. It’s where UK mycology meets hands-on land management, and we will be there talking to the growers, foragers and researchers shaping how Britain thinks about soil health (and doing a DJ set on Friday night).
A comprehensive review has identified 53 mushroom species with compounds that trigger cancer cell death and stimulate immune responses against leukaemia in laboratory and animal studies. Despite this breadth of preclinical evidence, only two small human trials exist, meaning mushroom-derived treatments are far from ready to replace standard leukaemia therapies. Researchers call for standardised extraction protocols and large-scale clinical trials before any clinical integration.
⚡️ Learn more here ⚡️
Mushmycel has developed a line of vegan leather accessories using agricultural waste streams including mushroom biomass, apple pomace, coconut husks, and spent coffee grounds. The startup cultivates mycelium networks on these waste materials, then processes them into durable alternatives to conventional leather, which generates approximately 110kg of CO₂ per square metre. Each waste substrate produces leather with distinct characteristics suited to different applications, from travel bags to phone cases.
⚡️ Learn more here ⚡️
Researchers at the University of Bath have demonstrated that turkey tail fungus can convert waste oriented strand board into a mycelium-based insulation material with a carbon footprint over ten times lower than conventional alternatives. The fungus grows through the waste wood, binding particles together without synthetic adhesives whilst maintaining thermal and fire-resistant properties comparable to established insulation products. This approach addresses a significant construction waste problem, as OSB currently has no competing recovery uses and typically ends up in landfills or incinerators.
⚡️ Learn more here ⚡️
Beyond Meat has launched its first mycelium-based whole-cut product, a steak filet alternative, in US retail chains Wegmans and H-E-B. Mycelium’s naturally fibrous structure can replicate the texture of beef steak in ways plant proteins alone have struggled to achieve. The move signals a strategic pivot for the struggling plant-based meat company as it seeks new growth avenues.
⚡️ Learn more here ⚡️
MycoStories works with founders, investors, industry leaders, and research institutions.
Leveraging a global network of subject-matter experts, MycoStories helps founders scale their business, guides investors and industry leaders in identifying high-potential opportunities, and empower researchers to translate their work into real-world applications.
Don’t hesitate to reach-out. If we can’t help, someone within the community will. ✊🏽
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