What do Keanu Reeves and a new fungus killer have in common? They’re both ‘deadly’
- Scientists hope keanumycins, a group of new fungus-killing compounds, can protect crops and help treat fungal infections in humans
- Reeves was grateful for the shoutout, but wished the scientists had named it after John Wick, one of his lethal alter egos, instead
Fans are used to US actor Keanu Reeves playing characters that kill their enemies. So it’s no wonder that scientists in Germany named a group of new fungus-killing compounds after him: keanumycins.
Scientists hope it can kill fungus known to threaten crops and treat fungal infections in humans.
“The lipopeptides kill so efficiently that we named them after Keanu Reeves because he, too, is extremely deadly in his roles,” Sebastian Götze, the lead author of the study on the killer, said in a statement.
Although the study by the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology was published early last month, news of the discovery did not make its way to The Matrix star until this last weekend during a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” session.
Reeves was grateful for the shoutout, but wished the scientists named it after one of his lethal alter egos instead.
“Hi, thank you … they should’ve called it John Wick … but that’s pretty cool … and surreal for me,” Reeves wrote through the Lionsgate account in response to a user who shared the news, referring to his titular character in the popular action franchise.
“But thanks, scientist people! Good luck, and thank you for helping us.”