A fungus is any member of a large group of eukaryotic organisms that
includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more
familiar mushrooms. They are classified as a kingdom that is separate
from plants, animals and bacteria. One major difference is that fungal
cells have cell walls that contain chitin, unlike the cell walls of
plants, which contain cellulose. The discipline of biology devoted to
the study of fungi is known as mycology, which is often regarded as a
branch of botany, even though genetic studies have shown that fungi are
more closely related to animals than to plants. Fungi perform an
essential role in the decomposition of organic matter and have
fundamental roles in nutrient cycling and exchange. They have long been
used as a direct source of food, such as mushrooms and truffles, as a
leavening agent for bread, and in fermentation of various food
products, such as wine, beer, and soy sauce. Since the 1940s, fungi
have been used for the production of antibiotics, and, more recently,
various enzymes produced by fungi are used industrially and in
detergents.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fungus>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1558:
Elizabeth I became Queen of England and Ireland, marking the beginning
of the Elizabethan era.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_I_of_England>
1796:
French Revolutionary Wars: French forces defeated the Austrians at the
Battle of the Bridge of Arcole in a maneuver to cut the latter's line
of retreat.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Bridge_of_Arcole>
1855:
Explorer David Livingstone became the first European to see Victoria
Falls , one of the largest waterfalls in the world, on what is now the
Zambia–Zimbabwe border.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Falls>
1869:
The Suez Canal, which allows water transportation between Europe and
Asia by linking the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea, opened to
shipping.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suez_Canal>
1950:
Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, was enthroned as Tibet's head of
state at the age of fifteen.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/14th_Dalai_Lama>
1997:
Sixty-two people were killed by terrorists outside the Deir el-Bahri,
one of Egypt's top tourist attractions, in Luxor.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxor_massacre>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
idiomatic (adj):
1. Pertaining or conforming to the mode of expression characteristic of
a language.
2. Resembling or characteristic of an idiom
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/idiomatic>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
When you can have anything you want by uttering a few words, the goal
matters not, only the journey to it.
--Christopher Paolini
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Christopher_Paolini>