Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have isolated individual molecules from the fungus Aspergillus flavus and transformed them into an “anti-cancer drug that could rival FDA-approved drugs.”
Scientists have discovered a molecule in the fungus emAspergillus flavus/em that could open the door to a powerful treatment for leukemia, according to a new study published in a href=”https://www.nature.com/articles/s41589-025-01946-9″ target=”_blank”emNature Chemical Biology/em/a. “Fungi gave us penicillin,” said Sherry Gao, an associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. “These results show that there are many more natural product-based drugs yet to be discovered.” The mushroom that is believed to be the cause of the “curse of King Tut's tomb” / h2 div id=”attachment_549212″ class=”wp-caption alignnone” img decoding=”async” aria-describedby=”caption-attachment-549212″ src=”https://allthatsinteresting.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/tutankhamuns-tomb.jpg” alt=”Tomb of Tutankhamun” width=”640″ height=”456″ class=”size-full wp-image-549212 post-img-landscape” https://allthatsinteresting.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/tutankhamuns-tomb-300×214.jpg 300w” sizes=”(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px” />
Wikimedia CommonsThese are just a few of the many artifacts found in Tutankhamun's tomb when it was first opened in 1922.
In 1922, a team of archaeologists led by Howard Carter discovered the tomb of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun, also known as King Tut. This final resting place of the young monarch soon became one of the most exciting archaeological finds in history, not only for the tomb itself, but also for its wealth of iconic artifacts, such as King Tut’s gold funerary mask.
But Tutankhamun's tomb was not only famous for its artifacts or historical value. Just months after its discovery, the earl who financed the excavation, George Herbert, died suddenly of an infection at the age of 56, and some of the circumstances of his death seemed mysterious.
Herbert was not the only one connected to the discovery to die after him. Over the next 10 years, eight other people connected to the find, including Howard Carter himself, also died.
Newspapers, eager to capitalize on public interest in the tomb, dubbed the deaths the result of the “curse of Tutankhamun.” Legend has it that the mummy cursed those who entered his final resting place.
However, modern research suggests that Herbert and others who visited Tutankhamun's tomb were exposed to a fungus called Aspergillus flavus, whose spores can remain dormant for centuries. Those exposed to the fungus can develop a deadly lung infection, especially if they already have a weakened immune system.
This infamous mushroom was brought back into the spotlight in archaeological circles when the tomb of the medieval king Casimir IV was found in Poland in the 1970s. Here too, the mushroom had remained dormant inside the crypt until its discovery.
Ten of the 12 team members died shortly after the excavation. Later studies confirmed that both this tomb and Tutankhamun's contained the fungus Flavus. But new research suggests that the fungus may offer more than just deadly infections.
Why the Pharaoh's Curse Could Actually Be a Cure for Cancer
Scientists now believe that the emflavus/em mushroom could be used to treat blood cancer, leukemia. Researchers have identified molecules in the mushroom that can kill cancer cells
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