Cover of May 22 edition of ScienceNews

You know it is a good day at the library when you walk by the magazine rack and see a false-color electron micrograph image of a conidiophore on a cover. It was the cover of the May 22, edition of ScienceNews, which happened to contain a feature article entitled I, Mold by Laura Bell. It is available on line from the magazine website:

In the germ world, fungi usually lack the flair of viruses or bacteria. To people with normal, healthy immune systems, a fungus will rarely show itself — even though you carry around a microscopic film of fungus on your hair and skin, and take in invisible clouds of fungal spores with each breath. While many other microbes prefer to make a living through disease and death, a fungus is often content to wait for its host to die of something else.

As can be garnered from the first paragraph, the article has a medical mycology focus, with reference to Cryptococcus, Aspergillus and Candida. Bell does a nice job of weaving together recent research and comments from fungal researchers to provide a timely update on the state of progress in fighting fungal diseases.

A third pet food company in as many weeks has pulled some of its products off the market. Wysong Pet Food confirmed that it recalled five batches of Canine Diets Maintenance and Senior dry dog food — manufactured in June and July 2009 — because the products contain mold. “Penicillium and Fusarium mold species have been identified,” Lucas Wysong, the company’s vice-president, told ConsumerAffairs.com. “All mycotoxin tests conducted thus far are negative with regard to the recalled products.”

The mycotoxin tests may have been negative but some pet owners have blamed animal deaths on the eating of the moldy food. If you use this brand of food, please check to see if it is affected by the recall.

I’m pretty sure dried ramen noodles with the flavor packet sprinkled on top are safe under any circumstances.

Disclosure: The author has a child starting college in two weeks, who has been fully briefed on the dangers of eating mold.

Chicago apartment dweller Amanda Bonnen has been sued for a “false and defamatory tweet” she posted about the conditions of her living space. According to Uptown Resident Sued for Twitter Post, Bonnen tweeted “Who said sleeping in a moldy apartment was bad for you? Horizon realty thinks it’s okay.”

Oh-oh… It appears her twitter account no longer exists.