Rubber from Mushrooms

Abhishek writes "The Hindustan Times reports that researchers at Gunma University, west of Tokyo, have produced rubber from the chichitake mushroom and the end-product has the advantage of not containing a protein that can cause allergies, according to Hiroshi Mitomo, head of the research team at the university's biological and chemical engineering department. The only obstacle is the high production costs which the scientists wish to conquer pretty soon."

Comments

Not a mispelling.

[pragma_x]

At first glance I simply thought the editor had grossly mispelled shiitake. After all, they're pretty damn rubbery in the hot-and-sour-soup from the local chinese place.

Apparently, the chichitake mushroom is a completely different fungus. Also called the "Tawny Milkcap mushroom", as it produces "a white 'milk', or sticky latex, seeps out and turns brown when the gills are cut".

Mushroom rubbers!

[Anonymous Coward]

The condom flavour for gourmets!

Gotta love it...

[nathan s]

..when someone glosses over the fact that shit is, well, shit.

From your link: "This doesn't hurt the spores, which are deposited in a nice, nutrient rich, wet and warm package to start reproducing again."

Sounds appetizing.:-P

This is actually awesome news

[multiplexo]

Latex allergies are pretty common, and from talking to the nurses I know can be developed in people who are not initially allergic but who are exposed to latex on a day to day basis (nurses, doctors, prostitutes, etc). So what's the replacement for latex gloves? Nitrile gloves. Unfortunately most of the ones I've seen aren't as flexible as latex so they don't fit as well and tend to tear.

better-tasting-pencil-erasers dept?

[nganju]

I'm tasting the pencil eraser made from these shrooms right now, and it does taste pretty good. Hey wait, this isn't a pencil at all, it's a giant kangaroo...