Fatal death cap mushroom may ultimately be a life-saver

A deadly fungus that took the life of a three-year-old boy in B.C. two years ago may yet yield a life-saving cure.
Among the unique compounds found in the death cap mushroom is one that can be used to kill some kinds of cancer cells. The toxin α-amanitin, applied to pancreatic tumours, cured 60 per cent of mice with cancer, in a 2012 study.
The death cap — Amanita phalloides — has a sinister history. A boy in Victoria died after eating a death cap while foraging for edible