Mould/Fungi experiment

We all might have left bread a little too long and it starts to mould. Have to admit it is quite nasty. Well lets look at the scientific perspective of it. How amazing is it that one thing always grows from another.

We did a little experiment. We took a piece of stale bread, put a few drops of water on it. Placed it in a petri dish with a lid on and left it in a dark cupboard for several weeks.

Mold covered bread

It was very interesting to see what types of mould actually grows on it, there you will see white, black and even brown with many threads. The brown started going slimy. 

Even thought it is all really gross, this mould is still a plant and belongs to the Fungi group. The only difference between this plant and other is that it can't make food due to a lack of chlorophyll.

source Microbiology Online

Above you can see exactly what the structure of mould looks like. 

The black spots we normally see in mould is called spores. Their function is to grow new mould with this being said they are so lightweight which makes it easy to travel through air and spread around.

Very important the mould that grows on bread is harmful and can lead to food poisoning.  

Watch this fascinating time-lapse video to see how mould grows.

On the website of Environmental Graffiti you can view beautiful photos of fungi under the microscope. Happy exploring.

Blessings

Maryna