Monday, October 7
7:30 P.M. CT

Zoom link will be sent to members via email.

In this spooky Halloween talk, Dr. Cat Adams will briefly introduce mushrooms, emphasizing their creepiest forms, then present the most deadly mushroom on the planet: the death cap. She will explain how these mushrooms are so deadly, and what we can do if an unfortunate soul accidentally eats death caps. Cat will tell the story of how scientists came to understand the death cap is an invasive species, and will explore a recent research paper examining how it disperses to find new victims.

Dr. Cat Adams of the University of California, Berkeley, is a fungal ecologist interested in how chemistry such as toxins, light, or fragrances drive interactions between fungi and other living things. Her PhD work examined the death cap mushroom and how its toxin levels vary over time and space. Her current postdoctoral research examines how fragrances made by a plant root-associated fungus impact their friendly neighborhood bacteria. Cat also loves video games, cats, and metal music, and has written for Slate and BBC Earth. Find her on scienceismetal.com or her social media accounts (e.g. Twitter, Twitch, Instagram) – all are @ScienceIsMetal.