Alaska's 'mushroom of immortality'

The fungus, which only grows in boreal birch forests in the northern hemisphere, is especially prominent in Alaska's dense forests. Here, for those willing to venture into the woods, chaga can be found growing as woody conchs on the sides of live birch trees. A wad of mycelium fungus (mushrooms are the fruiting, reproductive body of a fungus, whereas mycelium is the root structure), chaga can take 20 years to mature into a grapefruit-sized chunk large enough to harvest.
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Sounds like something to be scientifically explored.