
Science Fiction Double Feature
8. December 2017
Firefly, Vaquita & Porpoise
20. December 2017Star Trek: Discovery places a mushroom at the centre of an SF saga for the first time… and at the centre of the FedCon lecture Tardigrades and Giant Mushrooms by Bettina Wurche.
With a spore drive, the USS Discovery moves through an interstellar mushroom mesh in a super-fast way. Prototaxites is the new astromycological star – the legendary giant fossil mushroom. And as a mushroom navigator, the 3-meter version of a water tardigrade also appears!
Prototaxistes is an eight-metre-high fossil fungus that lived 400 million years ago in alien ecosystems. Mushrooms are fascinating creatures, more like animals than plants – and they have a lot of unusual characteristics. Tardigrades are microscopically small and extremely hard to handle – as experienced astronauts, they are old acquaintances for space geeks.
The new Star Trek series offers a lot of material for biology and fossil lovers interested in SF. The theme of the lecture Tardigrades and Giant Mushrooms, presented by Bettina, will certainly provide all the other FedCon visitors with a wealth of exciting facts.