PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania say they have discovered a way to modify a deadly fungus — linked to an ancient Egyptian curse — into a drug that can help fight cancer.
In the 1920s, members of archaeologist Howard Carter’s excavation team died one by one after discovering the grave of Egyptian King Tutankhamun, fueling the myth of the “pharaoh’s curse.” According to the legend, anyone who disturbed the king’s tomb would die.
Scientists later discovered that a fungus present in the grave, called Aspergillus flavus, created deadly toxins that were being inhaled by the excavators…