New Fungus-Killing Bacteria Named After Keanu Reeves
People.com: Keanu Reeves inspired the naming of a new fungus-killing bacteria.
"The lipopeptides kill so efficiently that we named them after Keanu Reeves because he, too, is extremely deadly in his roles," Sebastian Götze, a researcher with Germany's Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, shared in a news release on Monday.
The compound, named "keanumycins" after the actor, fights against plant fungal diseases and human-pathogenic fungi. It is harmless to plant and human cells, making it an environmentally friendly alternative to chemical pesticides, according to the press release.
The findings, which were published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society in January, made headlines again after a fan asked the John Wick star about them during a recent Reddit Ask Me Anything thread.
A user asked the 58-year-old actor, "Researchers from Germany found a compound naturally produced by some type of bacteria that is so effective at killing fungi, they named it after you: keanumycins. What are your thoughts about that?"
Reeves joked: "They should've called it John Wick ... but that's pretty cool ... and surreal for me. But thanks, scientist people! Good luck, and thank you for helping us."
