While tuning into electrical impulses zipping along a fungal mycelium (a kind of root system that fungi create in soil), computer scientist Andrew Adamatzky recently came to a remarkable conclusion: mushrooms appear to talk to each other using signals which resemble human speech. More incredible still, Adamatzky claims he could detect around 50 individual “words” comprising this fungal language.

We asked Katie Field, a professor who studies fungi and their relationships with other organisms, to assess the findings. Her verdict? Whether these language-like electrical impulses are really messages – and not just unintelligible byproducts of physiology – is unknown. But the possibility that this is our first ever glimpse into the consciousness of an intelligent (and chatty) form of life remains open.

Did you know that a slime mould once recreated the design of Tokyo’s rail system – one of the world’s most efficient transport systems? You can learn more about how to make urban travel kinder to people and nature from Kimberly Nicholas, an associate professor of sustainability science at Lund University.

Andy Warhol’s bold and brash style of painting is back in fashion. But look a little deeper, urges Lancaster University’s Harriet Fletcher, to see the darker shades of the decade he helped define. And from The Conversation Weekly podcast, here’s why Indonesia is uprooting its capital city.

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