Scientists In Germany Name Fungi-Killing Compound After Keanu Reeves

Scientists in Germany have named a fungi-killing compound after Keanu Reeves.

Per the Journal of the American Chemical Society, researchers at the Bio Pilot Plant at Germany’s Leibniz-HKI have invented an anti-fungal agent — or lipopeptide — called, ahem, Kenanumycins.

Researcher Sebastian Götze, the lead author of the study, said in a press release, “The lipopeptides kill so efficiently that we named them after Keanu Reeves because he, too, is extremely deadly in his roles.” The scientists are probably referring to Reeves’ roles in The Matrix and John Wick movies.

Crafted from bacteria of the genus Pseudomonas, Keanumycins can fight Botrytis cinerea, a fungal planet pest that causes a gray mold rot that destroys harvest. It can also target fungi that can be dangerous to humans, like Candida albicans.

Because it’s bacterial rather than chemical, Keanumycins is believed to be far more environmentally sound, and at low concentrations, doesn’t have adverse effects on plant or human cells.

Fungal pathogens are no laughing matter.

According to a World Health Organisation report last year, fungi were the biggest threat to public health, and among the 19 most “critical priority” fungi identified were Candida albicans, Aspergillus fumigatus and Cryptococcus neoformans. The latter is a leading cause of death in people with HIV.

Dr Justin Beardsley, who led WHO’s Fungal Priority Pathogens Lists research group, said (via NPR), “Fungi are the ‘forgotten’ infectious disease.

“They cause devastating illnesses but have been neglected so long that we barely understand the size of the problem.”

Meanwhile, Reeves isn’t the only public figure immortalised by scientists.

In 2020, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) named a new species of fly Daptolestes leei, inspired by Marvel legend Stan Lee’s iconic sunglasses and white moustache. In 2012, botanists at Duke University christened a newly-identified genus of fern after Lady Gaga. In that same year, an endangered subspecies of marsh rabbit was named Sylvilagus palustris hefneri, after Playboy founder Hugh Hefner.

Reeves will next be seen in John Wick: Chapter 4, opening in cinemas on March 23.

Photo: TPG News/Click Photos

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