Bacteria and viruses are the obvious bad guys, drivers of deadly global pandemics and annoying infections.

But the pathogens we haven't had to reckon with as much—yet—are the fungi.

But the pathogens we haven't had to reckon with as much—yet—are the fungi.

Pathogenic fungi (Candida, Aspergillus, Cryptococcus and others) are notorious killers of immune-compromised people.

Pathogenic fungi (Candida, Aspergillus, Cryptococcus and others) are notorious killers of immune-compromised people.

But for the most part, healthy people have not had to worry about them, and the vast majority of the planet's potentially pathogenic fungi don't do well in the heat of our bodies.

A new study out of Duke University School of Medicine finds that raised temperatures cause a pathogenic fungus known as Cryptococcus deneoformans to turn its adaptative responses into overdrive.

This increases its number of genetic changes, some of which might presumably lead to higher heat resistance, and others perhaps toward greater disease-causing potential.

Specifically, higher heat makes more of the fungus' transposable elements, or jumping genes, get up and move around within the fungal DNA, leading to changes in the way its genes are used and regulated.

The findings appeared Jan. 20 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The findings appeared Jan. 20 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.