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Feb 22, 2026 5 min

Fungal Biomining in Microgravity

from Intellectually Curious Hosted by Mike Breault

On the ISS, a humble mold becomes a metal miner. We break down the BioAsteroid experiment, where Penicillium simplicissimum outpaces abiotic chemistry in microgravity to extract palladium from a meteorite, while a rival bacterium forms a protective barrier. We explore why palladium matters for space life support and how in-situ resource utilization could turn biology into a scalable off-Earth factory. Note: This podcast was AI-generated, and sometimes AI can make mistakes. Please double-check any critical information. Sponsored by Embersilk LLC

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Fungal Biomining in Microgravity

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This episode was published on February 22, 2026.

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