She is over 2,000,000,000 years old. She is as old as the world. She is beautiful fabulously and disgusting to horror. She is able to kill and save from death. All this is about mold, or mold fungi.
What is the significance of mold in our life? Why did nature create molds? After all, they really cause disgust. But it was thanks to them, or rather, penicillin, that hundreds of thousands of wounded were saved during the Second World War, and after its end, the miraculous antibiotic firmly entered medicine for many years as the main weapon in the fight against infectious diseases.
Very well told about the achievement of microbiology in this direction in the film "Mold". Mold fungi - a form of life that unites organisms that combine the attributes of plants and animals at the same time. The group of living organisms totals up to 100,000 species, but scientists have described so far only 5% of them. Mold fungi are present absolutely everywhere: in the air, on land, in water.
For a long time they were considered plants. The structure of molds, their ability to reproduce and grow (and unlimited), the presence of cell walls, the inability to move - all these are the properties of plants. However, chlorophyll is absent in mushrooms, which means that they lack the ability to photosynthesis, which is a distinguishing characteristic of plants. Their type of nutrition is heterotrophic, the basis of the cell wall is chitin, and urea is used in exchange. In other words, mold fungi, the structure and method of their nutrition are similar to animals. However, here there is a distinguishing feature that does not allow to rank mushrooms in the animal kingdom: perforations in the intercellular septum and dicarion phases. As a result of long disputes and thoughts, mushrooms became an independent, separate species.
Mold fungi, in turn, are divided into many species: penicillium spp., Aspergillus, moniliaceae, dematiaceae, fusarium, acremonium, onychocola canadensis.
Mold fungi spread through the air (microscopic spores). A spore, once in a suitable environment with a certain humidity and temperature, sprouts and forms vultures, which, in turn, form a mycelium. This is what we call mold. Outwardly, we can observe it in the form of dark spots on damp walls.
Have you ever seen moldy bread? Little black dots are spankings. One such point contains about 50,000 spores. In a few days, one dispute reproduces millions of their own kind!
How does mold eat? Enzymes are released that break down molecules into simple compounds, which are subsequently absorbed. Since mold cannot move, it lives in food, which it itself absorbs. It can be dangerous to the body if its spores are swallowed or inhaled. However, its properties may be useful.
The antibacterial properties of green mold were discovered in 1928 by the microbiologist Alexander Fleming. The mold, called penicillium notatum, kills bacteria while remaining harmless to animals and humans. This discovery was the impetus for the production of penicillin. Mold has been used in the manufacture of drugs used in the treatment of migraine, thrombophlebitis, Parkinson's disease.
But on that its application was not limited. Well-known varieties of cheeses (brie, Danish blue, Camembert, Roquefort, gorgondzola) owe their characteristic taste to mold, or edible mold fungi. This can be said about soy sauces, salami, beer.
It is successfully used in winemaking. Grapes, on which the desired amount of mold is formed, is used for the manufacture of elite wines. It increases the concentration of sugar and makes the wine more saturated.
But the beneficial properties of mold do not make it less dangerous. Assyrians back in the 6th century BC used ergot as a biological weapon, poisoning water in wells. Mold that appeared on the spikelets of rye caused people to cramp, itch, hallucinate, and gangrene.
Mold mushrooms are omnipresent and omnivorous. They are contained even in seemingly clean air. With good immunity, we are able to withstand fatal disputes. Immune deficiency can give impetus to the multiplication of fungi inside our body, which can cause serious diseases, even death.
Remember the series of mysterious deaths of scientists who explored the tomb of Tutankhamun? The press then exploded with the headlines "The Curse of Tutankhamun", presenting readers with a story full of horror and mysticism. Much later it turned out that the culprits of the tragedy were mold fungi, the most dangerous of the species - aspergillus niger.
"The Curse of Tutankhamun" can be found in our time. This dangerous fungus settles in our homes: in the bathroom, in the toilet, in the basements, on damp walls. Cow rabies and bird flu are significantly inferior in danger to this fungus. For example, some statistics. In Paris, in 2004, twice as many people died from this fungus than worldwide from bird flu.
Mold fungi grow on any surface. Scientists managed to find them even in rocket fuel. This is the only microorganism that reproduces sexually. In the colony live individuals of both sexes. According to scientists, molds will not die even in the event of a global catastrophe.
The attitude of a person to mold is almost always neglectful. Some can cut off a piece of bread affected by it, or remove it from jam and eat the rest, not even knowing how dangerous it is! .. A moldy product should not be eaten. Cutting off the affected area will not solve the problem, since the entire product is already infected. You can not live where mold lives.
Knowledge of the dangerous properties of mold should not panic. Oddly enough, but the main reason for the rapid development of epidemics lies in fear. The brain sends an impulse of fear to the body, the cells begin to “be afraid”, cortisol, the so-called death hormone, is produced. Only stormy positive emotions can secure it. Without mold, the world could not live. In nature there is no superfluous, each element is a link in an infinitely long chain. And in order for us to remember how fragile this world is, nature gave us a reminder, both a blessing and a curse at the same time. And his name is mold ...