Mold loves dampness, in places like the insides of ceilings and walls where there is moisture from a roof or plumbing leak.

Some people have no reaction to mold spores in a home, but those who are sensitive can have allergic reactions that range from mild to life-threatening, some experts say. People with asthma, allergies, lung problems and immune-system dysfunction are usually more prone to problems, the experts say.

In September 2006, though, a justice in State Supreme Court in Manhattan — after the testimony of four experts and a review of more than 70 scientific articles and books — ruled that there was insufficient evidence to support the contention that mold or a damp indoor environment causes illness. The judge ruled in a case brought by a Manhattan family who contended that mold near windows and doors in their apartment had caused respiratory problems, a rash and fatigue. (The family has filed notice that it intends to appeal.)

Thanks to my great interest in science, I monitor numerous science news feeds that get me the latest developments from across the planet. Some of these relate to computers and other technologies of interest to the Overclockers Club community. Other items are just interesting, even though there is no direct link to overclocking or computers. This item is decidedly in the second category and is for every Canadian OCC member, and anyone else interested in highway design or molds.

Researchers have known for some time that Nature has a tendency to do things in the most optimized way. While humans have supercomputers that can perform thousand-year computations in weeks, Nature has had thousands and even millions of years to perform its own experiments several billion times. This reasoning has lead researchers at Queen’s University in Canada to prove that Nature can make complex computations, and recently the researchers have shown mold growing a network similar to the Canadian highway system.

Starting with a dish shaped like the country, the researchers placed food (rolled oats) at the locations of major urban areas. The physarum polycephalum mold was then allowed to grow into a network to connect these food sources, enabling it to continue growing. As you can see in the video of the mold growing, the pattern of the mold network closely resembles the highway network.

To create any efficient highway network requires the ability to perform complex computations, so the researchers believe this is proof of Nature’s computation capability. (That or Canadian highway engineers think like mold.) It is definitely proof that all researchers should consider what solutions Nature has to the modern problems humans face. After all, I am sure that slime experiment cost far less than any computer system used to plan out highways.

Article Source: Mold Mimics Canadian Highway System

Posted in: Canada, News Tags: Nature, Selim Akl

Warmth, moisture, and plenty of food might sound like the ingredients to a perfect vacation spot, but they’re actually the perfect recipe for the growth of mildew and mold. Mold is alive, but it’s not a plant or an animal. It’s a fungus. There are hundreds and hundreds of different strains of mold and many serve good purposes and have helped create medicines that we use every day. But harmful mold strains are the ones we don’t want in our lives and when the levels are too high, that’s when our health can suffer.

Twenty-five years ago mold in our homes was not that big of an issue. The reason was that  homes were not as tight and as efficient as they are now. As architects and builders we succeeded in lowering energy bills, but we also helped to create other issues, like mildew and mold. For most of us it’s the mildew and mold we see in the bathroom, especially where the tub meets the walls. This can be controlled by regular cleaning with a scrub brush and using the right caulking. Look for latex and silicon caulks with additives like Microban® or Bio-Seal™.  These additives are infused into the caulk when it’s manufactured and help reduce the growth of mildew and mold onto the caulk.

Cleaning mold and mildew requires some specialty products that go far beyond just chlorine bleach. While bleach can kill Ebola, it’s not an effective mildew and mold cleaner on porous surfaces. A home mold cleaning kit called Mold Control (Scottsliquidgold.com), priced at around $30, is very effective. It’s  the same formula used by many professional mold removal companies in homes, hospitals and institutions. Mold Off™ mildew and mold cleaner was developed for marine applications, and as any boater will tell you, there is plenty of mildew and mold around the water. It’s a non-bleach, biodegradable product that is very effective in cleaning and inhibiting future growth. (Moldoff.org) DampRid™ Mildew and Mold Blocker is readily available at hardware stores and home centers and works great on both hard and porous surfaces and will keep mildew and mold from coming back once cleaned (Damprid.com).

For areas that will not or cannot be cleaned, then testing is a necessary step. There are home kits like a mold test kit from Pro-Labs (Prolabinc.com) that cost around $10 and for an additional $30 you can send the samples to their lab to give you a scientific analysis of what you have. If a serious strain is found then you need to seek professional help. High mold levels can cause serious health concerns and need to be addressed. In the case of high mold levels, you’ll need to find a licensed and certified mold inspector and remediation contractor. You can start your search at: Ashi.org and Moldpro.org.

Now the one thing that mildew and mold do not like is airflow. This is especially true in the bathroom, basement or crawlspace — three places where moisture levels can be quite high. And this excessive moisture can permeate throughout your home. In the bathroom having a good exhaust fan is critical, but more importantly you must let it run. The trick is to operate the fan at least 15-20 minutes after you bathe to get rid of all of the moisture. Broan® has figured out a way to make this fool proof with their Ultra Silent Humidity Sensing Fan. It’s a long name, but the fan senses the humidity at the ceiling level and turns on and won’t shut off until the moisture is gone. You can see it at: Broan.com

Basements and crawlspaces can be a breeding ground for excessive moisture that can lead to mildew and mold. While a dehumidifier can help, many times they are just not big enough and can be cumbersome to operate and drain. The SaniDry system from Basement Systems not only eliminates high moisture levels, it also cleans the air of potential mold spores, so your basement will finally be dry and it won’t smell. To find a professional in your area to install these units for a cost of around $1,700.

Finally if you are remodeling or building a new home there is an insulation product that can help keep mold from growing inside the wall cavities where you can’t see it. It’s called DryRight™ from CertainTeed (Certainteed.com). The barrier on this insulation keeps moisture from entering the cavity from inside your home, but if it enters from the outside from a breach in a window, door or siding, the moisture will be allowed to wick out and not create a dark, moist cavern for mildew and mold to grow. The cost increase is minimal compared to regular insulation.

These tips can help you control the mildew and mold in your home. Just keep in mind that when using any of the cleaning products you should follow the instructions on the bottles. Wearing gloves, eye protection and in some cases a respirator can keep you safe while using these.

By Lou Manfredini

Article Resource: Got mold? Try these tips to a healthier home

A fungus that invades the brains of ants, turning them into zombies on a death march, may have met its match. Another parasitic fungus, it turns out, effectively castrates the zombie-ant fungus so it can’t spread its spores, a new study finds.

The finding explains how an ant colony can survive infestations by the zombie-ant fungus.

“In a case where biology is stranger than fiction, the parasite of the zombie-ant fungus is itself a fungus, a hyperparasitic fungus that specializes in attacking the parasite that turns the ants into zombies,” said study leader David Hughes of Penn State University in a statement.

Tiny horror flick

Fungi in the genus Ophiocordycepsare known to infest an ant’s brain, manipulating the ant to drunkenly wander along the rain-forest leaves before clamping its jaws around the main vein on the leaf’s underside mass grave; past research by Hughes found the ants are manipulated to clamp down on that leaf at high noon, though they don’t actually die until sunset, possibly a strategy that gives the fungus a long cool night during which it can burst from the ant’s head and begin growing its spore-releasing stalk. [Mind Control: Gallery of Zombie Ants]

These mass graves stay around in the same spot for years sometimes, a plus for scientists wanting to estimate mortality rates due to zombie parasitism.

Hughes and his colleagues had noticed while walking through these rain forests they would see the zombie-ant fungi covered in a white, fluffy fungus.

“What we found was that there was another player involved, something we hadn’t considered before,” Hughes told LiveScience. “This hyperparasite fungus is gaining its lunch by eating the zombie-ant fungus, limiting the fungus from producing spores.”

It’s a “hyper” parasite fungus, because it actually lives on, or infests, another parasite (the brain-manipulating fungus).

Secrets of survival

To find out just how beneficial this hyperparasite might be, the international team of researchers used data collected in the rain forests of Brazil and Thailand of the ants Camponotus leonardi (Thailand) and C. rufipes(Brazil), along with the two zombie-ant fungal species, Ophiocordyceps unilateralisand O. camponoti-rufipedis, that infect those ants, respectively. The data included various graveyards with information about each ant cadaver in each graveyard, such as whether the ant cadaver had a stalk growing from its head with no fruiting body (the soccer-ball-shape structure holding the spores), one with a fruiting body, or one with a fruiting body covered in the hyperparasite fungus.

They also crafted a model with this information to look at the life stages of the mind-controlling parasite. Their results showed that only about 6.5 percent of those soccer-ball-shape organs on the tops of stalks were viable. The fluffy hyperparasite fungus essentially grows on top of this spore ball and starts munching.

“Even though there are a lot of dead and infected zombie ants in the neighborhood, only a few of the spores of the zombie-ant fungus will become mature and able to infect healthy ants,” Hughes said.

Their findings, detailed online May 2 in the journal PLoS ONE, suggest the crowded graveyards strewn with zombie-ant cadavers belie the actual danger to the ant colony as a whole, Hughes said.

Hughes is primarily interested in studying how diseases spread, for instance, through tropical rain forests, saying that ant colonies are like little cities in the rain forest where he can study transmission from ant to ant and from colony to colony.

Article Source: Ant Zombie Tale: Mind-Controlling Fungus Loses to Lethal Foe

Toxic mold in your home can be dangerous. But when you call mold contractors for help, are they competent and honest? TODAY National Investigative Correspondent went undercover to find out.

It can be scary, finding mold in your home. So when you see black spots, you call a mold contractor. But experts say some of those companies are profiting off our worst fears, charging you big bucks for repairs you don’t need. We went undercover with hidden cameras to put them to the test.

Have an idea for Rossen Reports? Email us by clicking here!

A basement playroom, a concerned mother, and a parade of mold contractors she called for help. “I have my son down here a lot, and there are some dark spots that I’m a little worried about,” she tells them.

But that mom is really an undercover TODAY show producer. And those spots aren’t mold: They’re really women’s eye shadow. We know, because we put them there. So would these mold contractors know the difference, or charge us big money to solve a problem our experts say doesn’t exist?

“You’re saying this is mold?” I asked one. “Do you want to hear what it really is? Women’s eye shadow that we put there this morning.”

“Wow,” the contractor replied.

Profiting from fear
Some wanted to charge us hundreds, even thousands of dollars. Our hidden cameras rolled to expose what some experts say is a growing problem, in a growing industry.

Howard White, a mold remediation supervisor with Maxons Restorations, a top company, worked with us for our investigation. “Typically they’re preying on people’s fears,” he said. “People just want to know their homes are clean and safe.”

Rossen Reports: Are you getting what you pay for at the pump?

So we set up an experiment, renting a house in suburban New Jersey. We hired two reputable environmental testing companies to inspect the home from top to bottom, testing for mold and moisture on surfaces and in the air.

The results showed the house was safe. Then we had our expert dab black eye shadow in three spots. Our undercover producer called several mold contractors to inspect her basement, posing as a worried mom. Then we installed eight hidden cameras and watched from our control room upstairs as the contractors showed up.

“I’m in the job to sell basement waterproofing and mold remediation. I don’t think you need us,” one said. “I would just bleach, bleach, bleach. Kill with bleach what’s here, and then wipe it up.”

Two more contractors came in, and they didn’t charge us either. But then our results took a sharp turn. Two minutes after stepping into our basement, one contractor said, “It’s there, definitely mold, there’s no question about it.”

He said two of our spots were mold, and we also had signs of water damage. To fix it, he’d need to cut out sheetrock and spray chemicals. “Technically, I’m not supposed to say yes without testing it, but you don’t need to pay for a test because it’s definitely, this is definitely mold,” he said. (Remember: It was really eye shadow.)

By Jeff Rossen and Robert Powell.

Read More: Rossen Reports

Mold growth is a common problem in many homes, especially those in hot, humid climates. Several things are required for mold growth including food, moisture and the correct temperature. Growing mold is often responsible for damage to home structure and serious health effects in sensitive people. If you can see or smell mold inside your home, you must remove it to avoid serious health problems and costly home repairs.

People with mold allergies suffer ill health effects when indoor molds and mildew grow on hard surfaces and fabric in homes and other buildings. Damp conditions and moderate temperature ranges sustain these fungi, which feed on decaying substances on or in materials such as wood, cellulose wall board and upholstery. Short-term symptoms resemble those of hay fever. Reactions to heavy or persistent mold and mildew problems can cause lung disease over the long term. Opportunistic fungal infections may target allergy patients with respiratory conditions or low immunity.

Mold Exposure Symptoms

Many patients develop adverse health effects from removing carpeting that has a mildew problem or from entering moldy, water-damaged areas. As the CDC explains, most people react to inhaling allergenic mold spores, although touching mold can cause skin irritation as well. Coughing, sneezing and runny noses indicate inflammation of the airways brought on by allergic reactions. As these symptoms progress, nasal congestion and sore throat may accompany itchy and watery eyes. Recovery will entail cleaning away mold or avoiding infested environments, notes the CDC. The symptoms of mold allergies may come and go as long as patients continue to ingest a certain level of airborne mold allergens.

Sinus and Pulmonary Infection

Individuals who have mold and mildew problems, as well as additional health conditions that affect their respiratory or immune systems, have a greater than normal chance of getting fungal infections when they inhale mold spores into the sinuses or lungs, where the fungi start to grow. The health effects of infection may or may not be noticeable without medical testing. Sometimes chest pain, trouble breathing or coughing up blood occur. The CDC notes that asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis, HIV, cancer and recent transplant surgery patients are at a high risk for mold infections.

Lung Disease

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, irritation from mold allergies can exacerbate existing lung diseases such as asthma. Added to the common respiratory health effects of mold allergies, asthma symptoms may arise suddenly, including wheezing, chest tightness and shortness of breath.

Workers in many industries encounter mold and mildew problems in buildings they inhabit or materials they handle. Prolonged or intense exposure to mold and bacteria that grow on mold may cause hypersensitivity pneumonitis, a severe inflammation of the lungs. The Merck Manuals Online Medical Library reports that avoidance of molds can reverse this condition, but continued exposure can progress to incurable lung damage and disability.

Read More: EFFECTS OF MOLD AND MILDEW ON HEALTH

The term “toxic mold” is an often misunderstood term. According to the Center for Disease Control, the species of

mold that are referred to as toxic mold are not really toxic by themselves. However, they are capable of producing chemical substances called mycotoxins that are very harmful to the human body.

Research scientists report that there are over 100,000 species of mold. Some of them are harmless while some species produce mycotoxins that are so deadly that they can be used for biochemical warfare.

What are the most common types of toxic mold? Here is a short list.

1. Stachybotrys. Stachybotrys is more commonly known as black mold. It is one of the more harmful of the toxic mold species usually found inside a house. The mycotoxins that this species of mold produce can cause the lungs to

bleed, which is fatal to animals and to infants. The problem with black mold is that it is hard to detect; it usually develops behind walls and under ceilings and is resistant to regular air sampling.

2. Memnoniella. Memnoniella is a species of mold that is also referred to as black mold because of its close similarity to the stachybotrys species of mold. Memnoniella also produces the same effects as stachybotrys. The only difference between them can be seen under a microscope: memnoniella releases its spores in chains while stachybotrys releases spores in clumps.

3. Aspergillus. Aspergillus appears as grayish or greenish flecks on wooden surfaces. It often causes allergies that can lead to severe asthmatic reactions, lung infection and hay fever. There are around 20 species of aspergillus and they are all produce mycotoxins that are very dangerous to people with compromised immune systems.

4. Penicillum. There are many species of penicillum, some beneficial and some harmful. Some of these species of penicillum are used in making medicine and cheeses. Some can cause allergies, especially among people with weak immune systems due to AIDS.

5. Alternaria. Alternaria is one of the most common species of toxic mold in the world. This class of mold has many species, and when its spores are inhaled, they are often seen as a primary cause for asthma, hay fever and other allergic reactions.

There are many species of toxic mold. Some are resistant to cleaning and some are hard to detect. And yet, it is important to detect and identify whatever kind of house mold you find growing in your home because of mold’s inherent dangers to the human body.

The best way to detect if you have toxic mold in your house is to call a mold inspector to visit your home. You can also determine if you have mold in your house by using mold testing kits. If ever you find a colony of mold growing in your home, you should immediately take action about your mold problem. Otherwise, you may cause permanent damage to your home, as well as put your family in danger.

Read more: Most Common Types of Toxic Mold Found in Homes

Is your home hazardous to your health? It’s possible, if mold is present and allergic individuals live in the dwelling. Constant sneezing, wheezing, watery eyes and other allergy symptoms could be reactions to mold in the home. Check your home thoroughly for signs of mold growth. Uninhibited mold growth can affect the health of humans and pets, as well as the stability of the structure

Mold

Mold can be found almost anywhere, and homes are no exception. House dust includes mold spores, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. It thrives in moist environments, and can be a particular problem in basements, especially those prone to flooding. Mold also grows in foodstuffs as they loose freshness.

Effects on the Home

It may be a slow process, but ongoing mold growth affects the substance on which it sits. Eventually, it can impair building materials and destroy belongings. Mold often appears as discolored, cotton-like material or as staining on structures and has a distinctive odor. Look for signs of mold in any areas with water damage, as well as in wet places such as bathrooms or where plumbing may leak. To prevent mold, clean up any leaks or water damage immediately, and make sure bathrooms, clothes dryers and kitchens have proper ventilation. Avoid drying clothes on an indoor line.

Mold Removal

While serious mold issues may require professional help, minor mold problems can be handled by the homeowner. Wear rubber gloves and goggles and disinfect moldy areas with a sponge or mop dipped in a bleach/water solution of 1/2 cup of bleach mixed with 1 gallon of water. Do not mix ammonia with bleach. Keep a door or window open during cleaning to provide fresh air. Let the bleach dry on the surface of the treated area, although runoff should be mopped up or sopped with paper towels. Mold may return after an initial cleaning, so the process may need to be repeated a few times. If mold gets into porous materials, including carpeting, paper, plaster and Sheetrock, they must be thrown out. Place the items in plastic bags and dispose of them. Nonporous items, such as solid wood, glass, hard plastic and concrete may be cleaned with the bleach solution.

Health Effects

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, physical signs of mold sensitivity include skin, eye or throat irritation, along with wheezing. Those with serious lung ailments or immune impairments may suffer lung infections from mold exposure. People with these symptoms or asthmatics should consult their doctors for a definite diagnosis. If possible, those with known mold allergies should hire outside help to remove mold from their homes rather than do it themselves.

Read more: The Effects of Mold in Homes | eHow.com