Paul Stamets

Activist, Consultant, Entrepreneur, Environmentalist, Idea generator, Inventor, Life mentor, Photographer, Scientist, Writer/Editor

Paul Stamets, D.Sc.(honoris causa) is deeply concerned about ecological collapse and extinctions. He is an inventor, researcher, entrepreneur, psychonaut and has authored seven mushroom-related books. Several are used as textbooks around the world by the gourmet and medicinal mushroom industries. He has taught more than 3000 students in advanced tissue culture techniques. His extensive culture library of fungal strains, many of which are isolated from old growth forests, have been tested and provided results that could be game-changers for helping human and habitat health. He is the founder and sole owner of Fungi Perfecti, LLC (www.fungi.com, www.fungi.net, with 140 souls, and co-founder of a new startup: MycoMedica Life Sciences, PBC. He has been granted ~ 40 patents with more pending. His most recent discoveries may lead to improving neurological health using psilocybin, and psilocybin analogs. He has received numerous patents for protecting bees from Colony Collapse Disorder using mycelium-based extracts. Paul has received several environmental awards. In 2008, Utne Reader recognized Paul as one of the 50 Visionaries of the Year. In January of 2014, he received the North American Mycological Association (www.namyco.org) lifetime achievement award for his contributions to amateur and professional mycology. In 2014-2015, the American Association of the Advancement of Science appointed Paul as an Invention Ambassador. In 2015, The Mycological Society of America (MSA) awarded Paul the inaugural Wasson Award in 2015 for advancing the field of mycology more so than any mycologist in history. Paul is an advisor to the Program of Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona Medical School, Tucson; on the Editorial Board of The International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms. Stamets was the supplier and co-investigator of the first two NIH funded clinical studies using medicinal mushrooms in the United States and in 2010, a NIH funded clinical trial showed positive results of his mushroom extracts used as adjunct therapies helping immune recovery in breast cancer patients. Working with gov't laboratories, he has identified a new group of powerful antiviral compounds, particularly from the old growth mushroom Agarikon which he believes holds a reservoir of medically significant compounds. HIs July 2014 patent focuses Agarikon mycelium extracts and components active against avian, herpes viruses and pathogenic bacteria: staph, E. coli, and TB. Working with the Institute for Tuberculosis Research Institute at the University of Chicago, Paul and colleagues have discovered a group of anti TB coumarins. He has discovered 9 API's (Active Principal Ingredients) rated "highly active" by NIH/Virology against the human papilloma virus (HPV), varicella zoster ('shingles'), Epstein Barr, Polio, Noro and other viruses. His latest book, Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World, describes the use of mycelium for planetary healing. His other books include The Mushroom Cultivator, Growing Gourmet & Medicinal Mushrooms, Psilocybin Mushrooms of the World (Paul's work on this subject was covered by a DEA license) & MycoMedicinals. His TED (2008) talk "How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World has been seen my more than 8 million. A central premise of his work is that habitats and humans share immune systems and mycelium is the cellular bridge connecting us. Paul believes time is short. Moreover, Paul believes we share consciousness with the ecosystems that support us. Now is an 'all hands on deck' moment to respond to the ecological collapses occurring before us now. Ecosystems can be repaired using beneficial fungi. Paul envisions using mycobiomes of fungi to help terraform other planets. He believes investing in fungi is essential for our future.

Psilocybin and psilocybin mushrooms can improve neurological health and the ecology of consciousness. And psilocybin makes nicer people! Saving the Earth by re-investing in fungal networks, that build soil banks, supporting food webs, and preserving biodiversity. I believe mycelial membranes can prevent diseases and zoonotically driven viral pandemics.

An idea worth spreading: Psilocybin can help create happier, smarter, more compassionate, more creative people. And psilocybin helps us become more aware of our role on this planet, our destiny and obligations as Earth citizens. Fungi in soils are the biggest sequesters of biological carbon, with up to 30% of soil mass being fungally based. Recent research published in Nature Communications show that 70% of the carbon in soil is within fungal networks in habitats left alone for 70 years, whereas on 10% in habitats recently cultivated . Fungal networks, mycelium, has inherent properties useful for addressing issues of water cleansing, bioremediation, habitat resilience, disease mitigation, and strengthening foodwebs. After hundreds of millions of years of evolution, the kingdom of fungi represent a largely untapped resource rich in solutions of paramount importance today. Habitats have immune systems that are fortified by mycelial networks setting the stage for supporting microbial communities and the bidirectional flows of nutrients to the benefit of the plurality of species in ecosystems. Mycelium is the foundation of the food web, our genetic ancestors, and learning of their evolutionary roles can help navigate towards a healthier future. Mycelium can cover thousands of acres, and is primarily composed of carbon rich sugars which can be converted into alcohols. Moreover, mycelium sequesters carbon dioxide through its production of polysaccharides, chitin, glomalins & oxalates, making soils, reversing global warming. He recently published an OpEd in the NYTimes “Will Mushrooms Be Magic for Threatened Bees?” (New York Times-Dec 28, 2018.) Most recently an interview with Robin Young on NPR: One Mycologist On Why Fungi Are 'Critical For The Survival Of Life On Earth’... WBUR-Jan 28, 2019. The mushroom mycelium’s antiviral properties significantly reduced these viruses in honeybee colonies, in one field test by 45,000 times, compared to control colonies.. These paradigm shifting insights could save ecosystems, species and millions of human lives. (Nature: Scientific Reports, October 4, 2018). We then applied mushroom mycelium for enhancing human immunity. A recent, double blind, placebo controlled clinical study (n=90) shows that a combination of Agarikon and Turkey Tail mushroom mycelium enhanced mRNA vaccine efficacy, markedly extending antibody levels 6 months from a 4 day treatment. Moreover, the treated patient group had significantly less adverse side effects on Day 3, post vaccination, decoupling reactogenecity from immunogenicity, which can help overcome vaccine hesitancy. The fundamental hyopthesis is that Agarikon & Turkey Tail mycelium products (available at thousands of health store outlets) increase innate immunity, helping adaptive immunity to better protect individuals from viruses and cancer.

Psilocybin, gourmet and medicinal mushrooms, in vitro propagation (fungal culture),

Mycelium ! Many of the solutions that challenge us today have solutions which are literally underfoot - the vast network of fungal cells, Mycelium, that are only one cell wall thick and yet one fungal organism can cover thousands of acres, achieving the largest mass and size of any lifeform on Earth. These fungal networks are in constant biomolecular communication with the ecosystem, and develop host defense strategies against the billions of microbes that in constant contact with mycelium. That these mycelial networks survive is a testimonial to innate ability to intelligently respond to catastrophia. We can learn from the innate intelligence of these networks, and in doing so, tap into what I believe is a form of natural intelligence. We need to listen to nature, and these mycelial networks have much to teach us - as they are - our ancestors. We share a common ancestry with fungi than we do with any other organism. From these mycelial networks, fruiting bodies (mushrooms) are offered to us as food, medicine and spiritual aids. See Mycelium Running, How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World.

Joint locks. Having two blackbelts and martial art schools for more than 30 years, Paul can double as a bodyguard. Microdosing, saving Bees and and the potential for preventing and surviving pandemics ! How to prevent global pandemics and prevent extinctions. What can be done across the globe in using mycorestoration technologies/teacher training centers based upon my book Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World. My newest book, Psilocybin Mushrooms in their Natural Habitats is out June 10th, Penguin/Random House/Ten Speed Press.