Mushrooms and other fungi have lived on this planet for a billion years — and humans are only beginning to understand all the amazing things they can do. For mycologist David Andrew Quist the staying power of these unique molds and microbes is one of their most interesting properties — and he’s especially interested in how they’ve evolved over time and what that could teach us about creating a more resilient future for our planet. “Maybe you think of death and decay and disease, when you think about fungi,” he says in his TED Talk. “But I’d like to invite you to see these misunderstood creatures in a new light.”