One interesting thing that this article fails to mention is that the fungus was discovered by an undergraduate student. Jon Russell, the lead author of the paper, graduated last spring, and he originally discovered the fungus in Spring 2008. Yale offers a class that pays for students to spend Spring Break in the Ecuadorian rainforest collecting samples. The class also includes a stipend for students to continue their research projects during the summer following the course.
One of my greatest regrets from undergrad days was having graduated a year too early to enroll in this course. Scott Strobel was something of a visionary for setting it up, and it seems to have paid off with at least one cool result -- not to mention, a handful of students who now know how it feels to find something new.
I wish more professors would actively engage their students in "real" research projects, i.e. beyond the usual cookie-cutter laboratory lessons or follow-a-grad-student internships. Sure, it's more work for everyone involved, but experiences like this are the best way to convert bright students into real scientists, IMO.
