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Science Research Paper Essay ANALYSIS: What would happen if the experiment was repeated by baking the bread at high temperatures again before starting the experiment? The experiment can be repeated using different types of food like biscuits or cooked rice. It is observed that the 1st bread slice with a few drops of water and kept in the dark space had started to grow mold the fastest. The 5th bread slice that was kept in the refrigerator took the longest for the mold to appear. CONCLUSION: The hypothesis that bread mold will grow faster in warm and damp environment is proven to be true. Mold will grow fast on bread in humid and warm conditions. Bread should be kept in dark, dry and cool places for it to last longer. Bread can also last longer if stored in the fridge or in airtight containers. Mold is an annoyance when it comes to storing food, but it has its usefulness too. Molds help in the decomposing process of decaying animals and plants. Penicillium is used in pharmaceutical work to produce medicine. RESEARCH TEMPERATURE Definition: Temperature is the difference between hot and cold. It is measured on a standard scale. It is a numeric measurement of hotness and coldness. The measurement is based on a flow of heat between two connected objects. One of the most common scales of temperature is Celsius. Low Temperature storage Low Temperature storage (LTS) is what refrigeration and freezing is called. LTS is very effective in slowing the process of spoilage. It also allows longer storage. Refrigeration doesnt cause change to the food but does allow microorganisms to form after a while. Freezing can cause chemical change if the food has not yet been frozen and it goes into the freezer before being treated. After it has been treated it is called quick freezing. Freezing the food before the food has been treated is called slow freezing. Slow freezing causes the substance to leak fluids. Kelvin Kelvin is a fundamental physical quality that is based on the position above or below 273.16K. It is called the triple point of water. Kelvin is the temperature at which water, ice, and water vapor coexist together. Zero degree k is the absolute lowest temperature at which no energy motion of molecules is made. Kelvin is named after William Thompson, Lord Kelvin a British physicist. He introduced this absolute thermodynamic scale in 1848. There are some limits as to how low the temperature can get, but as far as scientists know there isnt a limit as to how high it can get. The lowest temperature that is known is ?273.15 C. MOLD GROWTH Definition Mold is a multi-celled woolly growth made up of microscopic spore colonies, that lives off of dead matter, and form when contact is made with sufficient food. After landing mold attacks its â€Å"prey† with a coating of slime that helps break the food down into small partials. Mold absorbs water and eats carbohydrates such as sugars and fats. There are approximately one hundred thousand known species of mold and scientists think that there are as many  as two hundred thousand. Four main types Penicillium Penicillium is most of the blue and green molds. This particular group of molds contains an antibiotic drug, the same drug that is found in Penicillin. In fact it is what lead to the production of Penicillin. The drug found in it is so strong that inhaling it can cause severe damage to the lung. Rhizopus Rhizopus is a type of bread mold. It is mainly the black molds. They have single tube like hyphea structures instead of many web-like structures. They are widely distributed instead of grouped together like most other molds. Aspergillius Aspergillius are the green colored molds. There are about eighty forms of Aspergillius and over half of them are hazardous and can cause respiratory disorders. Aspergillius is one of the only types of molds that completely smothers its food. Mucon Mucon is the group of white molds. There are over three hundred fifty forms of mold that fit into this group. One of the most commonly seen molds from this group is Mucor mucedo, which is a pin mold. MOLD RELATED PROBLEMS Allergic Disorders Allergic disorders may result from an immune mechanism shut down. Antibiotics can medicate them, immediate types are more life threatening than others and can cause systematic shock. Allergies can result in hives or angioedema, a delayed reaction is a generalized rash. Harmful pathogens Pathogens can harm the human body in many ways. One is through the manufacturing of toxic products (toxins) that are produced by living organisms, either exotoxins or endotoxins. Exotoxins are released onto the surrounding area and contain extremely potential protein compounds that demonstrate selectivity with regards to the site and mode of the attack. Endotoxins are only released when the organism that produced it is broken up and only then is it harmful if eaten. Defense Against In order to defend themselves from this harm, humans and animals have developed a set of complex defense mechanisms, the most common of these systems defend the bodies eternal and external surfaces. Controlling In spite of defense efforts bacterial infections are often harmful or even fatal. Therefore finding other defense methods is critically important to maintaining good health. SUMMARY Mold spores are reproductive structures of filamentous fungi (molds). A single microscopic mold filament, called a hypha, forms a mat that is called a mycelium. Mycelia are visible without a microscope. Molds are very common organisms and can be found where there is moisture, oxygen, and food they need. Molds can be seen on bread, cheese, or fruit. Hot spots of mold growth can be found in basements and bathrooms (especially shower stalls), house plants, and even air conditioners. Molds grow on fallen leaves, rotting logs, certain grasses, and weeds. They also can be found in barns, dairies, bakeries, and greenhouses. The mold mycelium produces reproductive branches above the surface of the mold. These branches carry spores called conidia that function in distribution of mold by air, water, and animals. Among different molds, sporesemployed in asexual reproductionvary in size, shape, and color. Each spore can germinate to start a new mold, which in turn produces million of spores. Spores are very tough structures: they are resistant to drying, freezing, heating, and some chemicals. The majority of the mold spores are disseminated by air. A sample of air may contain up to 2  million spores per cubic meter, but on average, about 10,000 spores inhabit one cubic meter of air. The amount of mold spores in the air in some areas is greater than the amount of pollen. Certain types of mold spores can cause various allergic reactions in humans, such as irritations of the eyes, nose, and throat. About 20 to 30 percent of the population develops allergic responses after exposure to these mold spores. The most common allergenic spores in the United States are Alternaria cladosporium, Aspergillus, Fusarium, Mucor, Rhizopus, and Penicillium. In some people, exposure to mold spores leads to asthma (Madigan, 2009). Some mold spores, if they reach lungs, can cause infections called mycoses. Systemic mycoses are the most serious category of mold infection. The host becomes infected by inhaling spores that germinate in the lungs. In the United States, two of the most common mold infections of that type are coccidioidomycosis, caused by Coccidioides immitis, and histoplasmosis, caused by Histoplasma capsulatum. Mild coccidioidomycosis may go unnoticed or produce symptoms similar to those of pneumonia or tuberculosis (Madigan, 2009). The human immune system normally destroys mold spores and neutralizes mold infections. In a small number of cases, however, more serious coccidioidomycosis develops and lesions of the skin, bones, joints, internal organs, and brain (meningitis) occur. Progressive histoplasmosis symptoms include lung cavities, sputum production, night sweats, and weight loss (Madigan, 2009). The weather and mold-spore distribution are closely related. Spore count is usually higher in temperate and tropical regions than in the polar and northern regions. In colder climates, molds are present in the air during the period between late winter and late fall. In warmer climates, mold spores are found throughout the year. It is likely that warmer temperatures due to global warming will result in an increase and even abundance of mold spores and, therefore, in considerable increase of allergic reactions. Repeated exposure to a massive amount of mold spores (100 million per cubic meter) can cause serious allergy-related health problems, including chills, fever, dry cough, breathlessness, weight loss, and even permanent lung damage. Global warming is believed to be a major factor in the explosion of mold-related asthma and mold infections (Beggs, 2004). For instance, the causative agent of coccidioidomycosis can be found in geographical areas with high summer temperatures and mild winters. In the southwestern regions of the United  States, where this climate prevails, an estimated 80 percent of inhabitants are currently infected. Infectious disease specialists suggest that global warming will cause the further expansion of the geographic ranges of coccidioidomycosis infection. Scientists predict that climate change could also increase the spread of histoplasmosis, which at present afflicts about 500,000 people annually. Another example of mold-spore infection spreading as a result of climate change is the infection caused by Cryptococcus gattii. Though previously it was only seen in Australia and other subtropical regions, this mold is spreading in Canadas Vancouver Island and the Pacific Northwest. It can cause serious human infection of the lungs and brain. In addition, molds are the cause of numerous plant diseases. The increase of plant fungal diseases due to global warming may have a negative impact on plants ability to take up carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas, thereby increasing the CO2 concentration of the atmosphere and contributing to further warming. Managing mold plant infections may also require pesticides whose production consumes fossil fuels and generates even more CO2 emissions. There is another indirect relationship between mold spores and climate change. In nature, many molds are capable of decomposing woody plants such as trees. Cellulose and lignin in these trees are the biological molecules most resistant to decomposition. Molds, however, use cellulose and lignin from woody plants as their source of energy and carbon, and they release CO2 in the process. Trees function as carbon sinks, retaining carbon for the duration of their lives and sequestering it from the atmosphere. As global climate change increases the amount of mold spores and, eventually, molds, the CO2 released by decomposition of woody plants by those molds will also increase. Eliminating mold spores is impractical. Therefore, the only solution to keep molds under control is to control global warming.