Mushrooms might be key to Stradivarius sound:
Speaking at a conference in Basel, Switzerland, Francis Schwarze said his maple violin, a replica of a 1698 instrument made by the Italian master Antonio Stradivari, has a sound comparable to the elusive timbre of a Stradivarius, according to a report from Agence France-Press.Schwarze, of the Zurich-based Federal Materials, Science and Technology Institute, treated the wood with Xylaria longipes, a mushroom that grows on the bark of trees. The mushroom nibbles lightly on the wood, reducing its density and intensifying the sound, he said.
Is there anything fungus can’t do?
(Hat tip to Todd.)