This week’s new questions

Why does a candle produce more smoke just after it has been extinguished? And do humans benefit from symbiotic relationships with fungi, like plants do?

2 February 2022

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Why does a candle make more smoke just after it has been extinguished?

Bob Yelland, Alton, Hampshire, UK

on a rotten mossy old tree trunk grow many small tree fungi in autumn ; Shutterstock ID 1837464541; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: - — :
Shutterstock/karegg Source: Shutterstock

Plants and fungi share highly developed symbiotic relationships, but do humans, or any other animal, enjoy similar beneficial relationships? Or is it all just itchy feet and flaky skin? David Pidgeon, Bristol, UK

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