Reference Terms
from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mold
Molds, or mould, are various fungi that cover surfaces as fluffy mycelia and usually produce masses of asexual, or sometimes sexual, spores. Mold is a growth of minute fungi forming on vegetable or animal matter, commonly as a downy or furry coating and associated with decay or dampness. They are genetically similar to yeasts. There are thousands of known varieties of molds. Their primary energy source is organic matter which is broken down by enzymes released from the mycelia (the mass of hyphae) into simpler compounds. By decomposing organic matter, molds play a big part in material biodegradation, enabling decay and rot necessary in all ecosystems. The enzymes and mycotoxins can also inhibit the growth of other molds and microorganisms. Some mycotoxins are considered to be harmful to health. Adequate humidity and temperature are needed for optimal growth. Molds do not use photosynthesis to receive energy.
Related Stories
1
2
Plants & Animals News
April 24, 2026
Apr. 24, 2026 The golden oyster mushroom may be a culinary hit, but it’s becoming an ecological problem. Scientists warn it’s spreading quickly through U.S. forests, where it outcompetes native fungi and reduces biodiversity. In just a decade, it has appeared ...
Apr. 24, 2026 Beneath the dry farmland of New South Wales lies a hidden window into a lost rainforest teeming with life from 11-16 million years ago. At McGraths Flat, scientists have uncovered fossils preserved in astonishing detail—not in typical rock like ...
Apr. 22, 2026 A vivid green pitviper hiding in Sichuan’s misty mountains has been revealed as a completely new species. Scientists had overlooked it for decades, assuming it was a common snake—until DNA analysis proved otherwise. Named after Laozi, it ...
Apr. 21, 2026 Scientists have uncovered a fascinating new species of pit viper in Myanmar that seems to blur the very definition of what a species is. This snake, now named the Ayeyarwady pit viper, puzzled ...
Apr. 20, 2026 Scientists at UC Riverside have found a clever new way to outsmart termites—by turning their own instincts against them. Using a natural pine scent called pinene, which smells like food to termites, researchers can lure the pests straight toward a ...
Apr. 20, 2026 Scientists have discovered that moringa seeds can help pull microplastics out of water, rivaling standard chemical treatments. The plant-based extract causes plastic particles to clump together, making them easier to filter away. In some conditions, ...
Apr. 16, 2026 Scientists have discovered that methane in the open ocean is produced by microbes under nutrient-poor conditions, solving a long-standing mystery. As warming oceans reduce nutrient mixing, these ...
Apr. 15, 2026 A rare fossil discovery is shedding light on the “missing years” of early sponge evolution. Scientists found a 550-million-year-old sponge that likely lacked hard skeletal parts, explaining why ...
Apr. 14, 2026 A new study from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa is overturning a decades-old belief that Indigenous Hawaiians hunted native waterbirds to extinction. Instead, researchers found no scientific evidence supporting this claim and propose a more ...
Apr. 13, 2026 Mitochondria don’t just generate energy—they also carefully organize their own DNA in a surprisingly elegant way. Scientists have discovered that a long-overlooked phenomenon called ...
Apr. 13, 2026 Spending time with close companions might do more than strengthen bonds—it could also reshape your gut bacteria. In a study of island birds, those with stronger social ties shared more gut microbes, especially types that require direct contact to ...
Apr. 13, 2026 Gray whales are beginning to break their long-established migration patterns, venturing into risky new territory like San Francisco Bay as climate change disrupts their Arctic food supply. But this unexpected detour is proving deadly: nearly one in ...
Latest Headlines
updated 12:56 pm ET
Apr. 24, 2026 A long-standing mystery in southern Africa’s fossil record is beginning to unravel. After massive lava flows 182 million years ago seemed to erase evidence of dinosaurs in the region, scientists ...
Apr. 23, 2026 A bizarre crocodile relative from the age of dinosaurs is rewriting what scientists thought they knew about ancient reptiles. This poodle-sized creature, called Sonselasuchus cedrus, appears to have ...
Apr. 23, 2026 A remarkably preserved, mummified reptile from 289 million years ago is rewriting what we know about how animals first breathed on land. This tiny creature, Captorhinus aguti, reveals the earliest ...
Apr. 21, 2026 Scientists chasing thunderstorms in a retrofitted minivan finally captured something never seen before in nature: faint electrical glows shimmering from treetops during a storm. These “corona ...
Apr. 21, 2026 Tiny dinosaur fossils that puzzled scientists for over 20 years have finally revealed their true identity. Rather than belonging to a miniature species, they are actually baby ankylosaurs—some less ...
Apr. 20, 2026 A unique hybrid honeybee thriving in Southern California may hold a powerful clue to saving struggling bee populations. While U.S. beekeepers are losing massive numbers of colonies—largely due to ...
Apr. 20, 2026 Cyanobacteria—ancient microbes that oxygenated Earth and made complex life possible—are still revealing surprises billions of years later. Scientists have now discovered that a molecular system ...
Apr. 18, 2026 Caffeine doesn’t just perk up humans—it can sharpen ants’ minds too. Invasive Argentine ants given caffeinated sugar learned to find food much more efficiently, taking straighter paths and ...
Apr. 15, 2026 A long-running dinosaur mystery may finally be solved: Nanotyrannus, once dismissed as just a teenage T. rex, appears to have been its own distinct species after all. Scientists analyzed a tiny ...
Apr. 15, 2026 A badly mangled dinosaur skull, once forgotten in a drawer, turned out to be a rare and important discovery. Reconstructed by a Virginia Tech student, it revealed a new species of early carnivorous ...