MARQUETTE, Mich. (WZMQ) – Lately in the UP there has been a lot of concern about PFAS.
Element resistant chemicals used in all sorts of products from nylon in clothes, to heat resistant materials on airbases.
Unfortunately PFAS can also pollute the environment and affect our health.
So Agricultural Expert Ryan Iacovacci, Biologist Joe Lane, and their company “Myconaut” are studying fungi to help solve the PFAS problem, and received a $275,000 dollar grant from the national science foundation for its research in May.
“It’s everywhere,” said Iacovacci. “It’s another cancer causing pollutant in our environment, and we got to figure out a way to clean this up so that our kids to have to deal with this kind of problem. We got to figure out how to get it out of our bodies, how to get it out of the environment, how to break it down. Fungi have this secret, and they know how to do it. Been around for two and a half billion years.”
While fungi might seem like a strange way to clean up microplastics, according to Iacovacci, they may be somewhat of a super organism.
“You name it, fungi can do it,” said Iacovacci. “Eating plastics, to making new bio materials, transporting heavy metals.”
Myconaut began researching in 2022 but Iacovacci said they’ve been able to continue their work till now thanks to some outside help.
“Now the goal is to fundraise, expand the company, legitimately do research, get out of the smart zone, implement pilot projects this year so we can start collecting data.”
And if all goes well, Iacovacci said they hope to have a marketable by the end of next year.
For more information about Myconaut, check out its website.
