All engine running.

Absolutely genius.

Welcome.

Welcome.

This is the show where we bring you science.

What that essentially means is discovery is questions, research, technology, unbelievable.

Without further ado, this is the naked scientists.

Hello, welcome to the Naked Scientist's podcast, the program where we bring you the biggest breakthroughs and talk to the major movers and shakers in the worlds of science, technology and medicine.

With me, Chris Smith.

And this week, we return to the world of fungi and why this is probably one of the most serious health threats that you haven't heard of.

From Cambridge University's Institute of Continuing Education, this is the Naked Scientists.

When we think of infections, viruses and bacteria usually spring to mind first, not fungi.

But as we heard in our previous recent foray into the world of fungi, fungal infections caused

2 million deaths in 2020. And that was a year where much of the world was staying indoors

and away from one another to fight off COVID-19.

Indeed, viruses and bacteria have hogged the infection limelight for the majority of the time

that microbiology has existed as a discipline. But this is changing. And multiple wake-up calls

in the form of novel and emerging fungal threats causing human, animal and plant diseases, as well as a rising

tide of resistance against our currently very limited repertoire of antifungal drugs mean that

scientists are now sounding the alarm. And in partnership with the Welcome Trust, in this

follow on Fungi, we're diving into what the threats are, why this is happening

of what needs to be done, urgently, to ward off the risk. To kick off, where are fungi

...