Paul Stamets: A Life Between Science and Science Fiction
Photo of Paul Stamets courtesy of Pamela Kryskow
Paul Stamets’s life sits at the intersection of science and science fiction—or perhaps more accurately, science fiction that may soon become science fact. His lifelong fascination with fungi and natural systems has already led to discoveries that could shape future medicine.
About seven years ago, Stamets received a surprising phone call from the writers developing the new series Star Trek: Discovery. One of them said, “Paul, we’re down here in the dungeon at CBS working on the new Star Trek series. Do you have any ideas?”
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At the time, Stamets was standing on the deck of his cabin on a remote island in British Columbia. The cabin itself was designed as a tribute to the Star Trek starship Enterprise, reflecting his lifelong love of the series. Honored by the call, he told the writers he had always been a devoted Trekkie.
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He spoke enthusiastically about the ethos of Star Trek: inclusion, diversity, cooperation, and respect for different cultures and beliefs. For Stamets, the series represented more than entertainment—it modeled values that help guide future generations as humanity continues exploring the frontiers of science.
What followed was a two-hour conversation filled with ideas, laughter, and imagination. Stamets described the possibility of merging with vast intergalactic mycelial networks—structures he imagined connecting dark energy and matter across the universe. In theory, such a network could allow a spacecraft to travel instantly to any location in the cosmos. He also discussed the role fungi might play in terraforming other planets.
“I always wanted to be the first astromycologist,” he told them. “I don’t want money or recognition—just take these ideas and run with them.”
The writers, including Bryan Fuller and Alex Kurtzman, did exactly that. When Star Trek: Discovery premiered, one of its central characters was named after him: astromycologist Paul Stamets, portrayed by Anthony Rapp.
Discovering the Power of Mycelium
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Stamets’s insights grew from years of exploration—through studying mushrooms, examining organisms under scanning electron microscopes, gazing through telescopes, and even through experiences with psilocybin mushrooms. Across every scale of observation, he noticed a repeating pattern: networks.
This realization led him into a deep study of mycelium—the underground network of threadlike fungal cells that permeates soils around the world.
Mycelial networks form delicate white webs beneath nearly every step we take on natural ground. Lift a piece of wood that has rested on the forest floor for a few months, and you will likely see spreading fans of mycelium beneath it. These networks digest the wood and, in the process, transform it into new soil.
Mycelium performs many functions simultaneously. It acts as an external digestive system, breaking down nutrients outside the organism and absorbing them afterward. It also functions like lungs, inhaling oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide.
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Bob Weir’s daughter, Chloe, encouraged her Dad, Bob Weir, of the Grateful Dead to do something with Paul. They collaborated to create the Grateful Dead Gummies.
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Mycelium also serves as a transportation system for microbes. Bacteria travel along its strands at remarkable speeds, using them as microscopic highways. At the same time, mycelium operates as a biological defense system, suppressing harmful pathogens while encouraging beneficial microbial communities.
These fungal threads also connect ecosystems. Forest plants, microbes, and soil organisms communicate and exchange nutrients through mycelial networks. Scientists have even discovered patterns of signaling within these networks—sometimes described as “word packets”—suggesting complex communication between organisms.
For Stamets, this meant mycelium could be understood as something like a living biological computer: a vast network linking species together through chemical signals and shared resources. The complexity of these interactions is still only beginning to be understood.
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From Theory to Practical Discoveries
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This network-based view of nature led Stamets to pursue practical applications of fungi.
After the September 11 attacks, the U.S. Department of Defense contacted him in 2004. The BioShield program—working with the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases—was searching for compounds that might combat weaponized viruses such as smallpox or influenza.
Researchers tested thousands of natural substances. Among nearly two million samples, extracts from mushroom mycelium stood out for their antiviral activity. In particular, cold-water and ethanol extracts showed promise against viruses in the pox family and strains of influenza such as H5N1.
One species proved especially remarkable: Agarikon, a rare medicinal mushroom that grows mainly in the old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest.
Agarikon resembles a large beehive-shaped conk growing on ancient trees. Though it once grew widely, it is now considered threatened in many parts of Europe. In North America it still appears in scattered forests across northern California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and British Columbia.
Recognizing its potential, Stamets and his team began collecting and preserving strains of Agarikon. Today they maintain a library of more than 120 unique strains—believed to be the largest collection of Agarikon cultures in the world.
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New Research and the COVID-19 Pandemic
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Despite promising laboratory results with the BioShield Program, clinical trials in humans remained difficult because of limited funding. Despite promising laboratory results with the BioShield Program, clinical trials in humans remained difficult because of limited funding.
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Then the COVID-19 pandemic changed the landscape. There was renewed interest in Agarikon.
On March 3, 2026, a placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical study was published in BMC Immunology. The study examined the effects of Agarikon combined with another medicinal mushroom, Turkey Tail, in individuals receiving mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.
Ninety participants took part in the trial. About ½ received a placebo made of rice, while others received rice fermented by Agarikon and Turkey Tail mushroom mycelium.
The results were striking. Participants who took the mushroom combination experienced fewer adverse effects from the vaccine. Even more surprising, although they took the supplement for only four days, their immune markers remained significantly stronger six months later—showing two to three times more antibodies compared with the group that received only the vaccine.
COVID-19 immunity often fades over time, but the mushroom combination appeared to extend the longevity of immune responses.
Another clinical study, involving fifty participants, is soon to be published that shows results from the direct treatment of COVID-19 using the same mushroom mycelium combination.
Researchers involved in the BMC Immunology study suggest that these compounds might eventually enhance medical treatments or even help prepare for future pandemics—such as potential outbreaks of avian influenza.
Paul says “The mycelium is an immune system of nature. It is a complex network, with deep intelligence that we can merge with. Not only here, but likely on planets throughout the Universe. These threads connect us . We are all part of one giant consciousness.
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Paul Stamets’s newest book is Psilocybin Mushrooms in Their Natural Habitats.
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