World News for Students of English

07-07-2026 07:00

The fungal kingdom is a vast and wild world. Scientists estimate that up to 12 million species remain undiscovered. Often called dark fungi, these microscopic or hidden organisms elude discovery but are all around us.

Although historically misclassified as plants due to their root-like networks, fungi are biologically closer to animals. Over a billion years, they evolved diverse ecological roles. Many form essential partnerships with plants as they exchange soil nutrients for carbon, a relationship that originally helped plants colonize land 470 million years ago. Other fungi produce complex chemical weapons like antibiotics or psilocybin to deter predators, while some, like Cordyceps, turn ants into zombies to spread their spores.

Remarkably, certain species thrive in extreme environments like Chernobyl. They use melanin to absorb harmful radiation and convert it into energy. Globally, vast underground fungal networks store massive amounts of carbon, which helps keep the planet resilient against climate change.

Difficult words: fungal (relating to or caused by fungi), vast (extremely big, huge, or wide in size, area, or amount), elude (to escape from someone or something, or to avoid being found, caught, or understood), psilocybin (a natural chemical compound found in certain mushrooms that changes how the brain works and causes people to see things that are not real).

You can watch the video news lower on this page.