Mold Quiz

c) 96. A clinical survey discovered mold in mucus of 96% of patients suffering from chronic sinus infections, a disease which annually impacts more than 20 million adults U.S.

b). Penicillin, the first antibiotic, was isolated and discovered in 1928 by Dr. Alexander Fleming from Penicillium mold.

b) To recycle organic matter through decomposition and mineralization. In fact, everything lignin-containing can only be dissolved by saprophytic fungi, without which life on this planet wouldn’t be possible due to sheer amounts of debris formed by undecomposed plant material.

Nutrient cycle (Photo source: Jakob Assmann)

a). The blue veins are the result of Penicillium molds forming colonies in the presence of air. This cheese, even though technically spoiled, is considered safe and a delicacy.

a). Molds are multicellular, filamentous organisms that belong to the kingdom of Fungi.

c) 600 000. Furthermore, according to the UNICEF statistics, of all pneumonia-related mortalities of children under the age of five, half can be traced to air pollution.

b). Radiation. Some melanin-producing molds, such as Cladosporium sphaerospermum, can use radiation to increase the rate of their metabolism, eat more and grow several times faster. Interestingly, experiments conducted on the International Space Station showed the potential of these molds to be used for radiation shielding during long space flights.

Melanin-producing Cladosporium sphaerospermum colony (Photo source: Medmyco, Wikimedia)

a) 13%, and the most common types (in more than half cases) are from the Penicillium/Aspergillus group.

b). Humans because the latest molecular studies have placed the kingdom of Fungi (where molds belong) and the kingdom of Animalia (where humans belong) into a superkingdom named Opisthokonta

The Tree of Life of the planet's organisms. (Photo source: Micallen0713, Wikimedia).

c). Applying bleach to a mouldy wall will only contaminate the space with dangerous evaporations. Bleach only destroys the superficial part of the organism, while the rest of the mold and its spores can survive and continue to spread.