Monday Morning Mold (Mycology) December 26, 2005
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Aspergillus Genomes Sequenced! Monday Morning Mold (Mycology) December 26, 2005
Mold (Mycology) in the Media December 26, 2005
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Mold (Mycology) Stories - from Cynthia Anne Coulter (Mulvihill) of Hyde Mulvihill, APC
-- Fungal Genomic Sequences Completed - New Insights Into Reproduction, Evolution And Disease (Medical News Today, UK - Dec 21, 2005)
-- Genome discovery may prevent leukaemia (News-Medical.net, Australia - Dec 21, 2005)
-- $1.8 Mil. Mold Class Action Settlement: Hilton Hawaiian Village Settles with 2,900 Class Members (Honolulu Star-Bulletin, HI - Dec 24, 2005)
-- Dog Food Recalled Due To Aflatoxin [Ed. Note: mycotoxin produced by Aspergillus flavus] (DogExplorer, CA - Dec 22, 2005)
-- Modular Home Mold - Couple wants what they paid for (WOWT, NE - Dec 20, 2005)
-- OSHA Closes Town Hall with Mold Problems (Billings Gazette, USA - Dec 24, 2005)
-- Mold Education: Genomic sequence of the pathogenic and allergenic filamentous fungus Aspergillus fumigatus (Nature 438, 1151-1156 (22 December 2005)
-- Mold & Litigation: Move in, then sue somebody - With lawsuits inevitable, insurance adds $5,000 to price of condos (MSNBC - Dec 19, 2005)
-- Mold & Technology: CFTRI develops new technology for detecting aflatoxigenic fungi (Business Standard, India - Dec 15, 2005)
-- Mold & Technology: New mold remediation product (Construction and Maintenance News, Belarus - Dec 21, 2005)
-- Mold & Technology: Mold solution spawns national award (Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber, WA - Dec 21, 2005)
-- Mold & Technology: Cement housing shrugs off wind, mold (Bradenton Herald, United States - Dec 18, 2005)
-- Mold Professionals: Mold Litigation Consulting
-- Mold Professionals: Har-Bro
-- Mold Investigation: Clark Seif Clark, Inc.
-- For Fun: JibJab - George Bush's Year in Review 2 - 0 - 5
Good Morning,
Here's a wonderful Christmas/Hannauka/Kwaanza present for those of us interested in fungus - Aspergillus nidulans, A. fumigatus ,and A. oryzae have been genome sequenced and compared to each other. The results are published in three articles in the journal Nature. You can view all articles if you are a Nature subscriber; if not, you can purchase the rights to view each story for $30.
If you are wondering who to send a "Thank You" note to, you will be busy -- more than 150 scientists around the world worked on this project.
This week's picture is of Aspergillus oryzae., from www.repha.de
Hot tips on mold? Please let me know. Send information to
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
, Cynthia Coulter Mulvihihll, Esq Hyde Mulvihill APC 216 W. Foothill Boulevard Monrovia CA 91016. |
Fungal Genomic Sequences Completed - New Insights Into Reproduction, Evolution And Disease (Medical News Today, UK - Dec 21, 2005)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  Humans have a love-hate relationship with the aspergilli, a group of about 185 different species of fungus: several species are human athogens, while others are the basis for the production of human food and industrial enzymes. Now, an international team of scientists have determined and compared the genome sequences of three aspergilli - Aspergillus fumigatus, a potentially deadly human pathogen, A. oryzae, used in the production of soy sauce and sake, and A. nidulans, a model genetic organism. Their findings, published in three papers in the December 22 issue of Nature , advance our understanding of the molecular basis of Aspergillus infection, provide insight into the forces driving genome evolution, and identify new genomic functional elements.
"The comparison of these organisms gives us a wealth of information about gene regulation and genome evolution that apply to the study of all eukaryotes, including humans," said James Galagan, associate director of Microbial Genome Analysis and Annotation at the Broad Institute. "We were most excited about being able to relate genome evolution to sexual reproduction, a very specific - and important - physiological difference between the three aspergilli." Unlike A. nidulans, which has a sexual cycle, A. oryzae and A. fumigatus were believed to be asexual, but the comparative analysis suggests that both species maintain the genetic wherewithal for sexual reproduction. If confirmed, this raises the potential for developing powerful genetic tools for both organisms, with far reaching implications for medicine (A. fumigatus) and industry (A. oryzae).
Click here for Fungal Genomic Sequences Completed - New Insights Into Reproduction, Evolution And Disease (Medical News Today, UK - Dec 21, 2005) |
Genome discovery may prevent leukaemia (News-Medical.net, Australia - Dec 21, 2005)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  An international consortium of researchers led by the University of Manchester has cracked the gene code behind a key family of fungi, which includes both the leading cause of death in leukaemia and bone marrow transplant patients and an essential ingredient of soy sauce.
The 'genome sequences' or genetic maps for the fungi Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus nidulans and Aspergillus oryzae are published on 22 December in Nature magazine. Despite being from the same fungal family, they have been found to be as genetically different as fish and man.
Click here for Genome discovery may prevent leukaemia (News-Medical.net, Australia - Dec 21, 2005) |
$1.8 Mil. Mold Class Action Settlement: Hilton Hawaiian Village Settles with 2,900 Class Members (Honolulu Star-Bulletin, HI - Dec 24, 2005)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  A class-action lawsuit, filed by a Florida man who accused Waikiki's Hilton Hawaiian Village of failing to disclose a mold problem at its Kalia Tower, could compensate former guests up to $1.8 million.
The settlement, which offers guests either $150 in travel coupons or $50 cash for each night of their stay, was given preliminary approval yesterday by Circuit Judge Sabrina McKenna, said Thomas Grande, a Honolulu-based attorney who represented the class along with Rick Eichor.
Click here for $1.8 Mil. Mold Class Action Settlement: Hilton Hawaiian Village Settles with 2,900 Class Members (Honolulu Star-Bulletin, HI - Dec 24, 2005) |
Dog Food Recalled Due To Aflatoxin [Ed. Note: mycotoxin produced by Aspergillus flavus] (DogExplorer, CA - Dec 22, 2005)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  Diamond Pet Food has discovered aflatoxin in a product manufactured at the company's Gaston, South Carolina facility. They have elected to recall products in the areas affected by this situation.
What is Aflatoxin?
According to a statement on the Diamond Pet Food website, aflatoxin is a naturally occurring toxic chemical by-product from the growth of the fungus Aspergillus flavus, on corn and other crops. The fungus develops on crops during years with severe high temperature stress and drought.
Click here for Dog Food Recalled Due To Aflatoxin [Ed. Note: mycotoxin produced by Aspergillus flavus] (DogExplorer, CA - Dec 22, 2005) |
Modular Home Mold - Couple wants what they paid for (WOWT, NE - Dec 20, 2005)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  Instead of celebrating the holidays in their new home, a Fremont couple is afraid to move in because of concerns over mold. Their concerns over mold and workmanship led to Terry and Mary Lafavor's lawsuit against Fremont Homes.
They wanted the fresh air of living in the country but it's breathing inside their new manufactured home that has the Lafavors afraid of moving in. The Lafavors claim mold in their brand new modular home grew from water leaks when it wasn't properly covered during installation last spring.
Click here for Click here for Modular Home Mold - Couple wants what they paid for (WOWT, NE - Dec 20, 2005) |
OSHA Closes Town Hall with Mold Problems (Billings Gazette, USA - Dec 24, 2005)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  BRIDGER - Officials in Bridger continue to look for a new home for the town hall after a state inspector ordered it shuttered effective Dec. 22, a town official said Saturday.
The building was contaminated with mold deemed hazardous by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, said town councilman Randy Novakovich.
Click here for OSHA Closes Town Hall with Mold Problems (Billings Gazette, USA - Dec 24, 2005) |
Mold Education: Genomic sequence of the pathogenic and allergenic filamentous fungus Aspergillus fumigatus (Nature 438, 1151-1156 (22 December 2005)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [Ed. Note: This is the abstract from the Nature article that will be of most interest to MMM readers.]
Aspergillus fumigatus is exceptional among microorganisms in being both a primary and opportunistic pathogen as well as a major allergen. Its conidia production is prolific, and so human respiratory tract exposure is almost constant. A. fumigatus is isolated from human habitats and vegetable compost heaps.
In immunocompromised individuals, the incidence of invasive infection can be as high as 50% and the mortality rate is often about 50%. The interaction of A. fumigatus and other airborne fungi with the immune system is increasingly linked to severe asthma and sinusitis. Although the burden of invasive disease caused by A. fumigatus is substantial, the basic biology of the organism is mostly obscure.
Here we show the complete 29.4-megabase genome sequence of the clinical isolate Af293, which consists of eight chromosomes containing 9,926 predicted genes. Microarray analysis revealed temperature-dependent expression of distinct sets of genes, as well as 700 A. fumigatus genes not present or significantly diverged in the closely related sexual species Neosartorya fischeri, many of which may have roles in the pathogenicity phenotype. The Af293 genome sequence provides an unparalleled resource for the future understanding of this remarkable fungus.
Click here for Mold Education: Genomic sequence of the pathogenic and allergenic filamentous fungus Aspergillus fumigatus (Nature 438, 1151-1156 (22 December 2005) |
Mold & Litigation: Move in, then sue somebody - With lawsuits inevitable, insurance adds $5,000 to price of condos (MSNBC - Dec 19, 2005)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  Sometime over the next 10 years, each of the developers who are building high-rise condominium projects across Honolulu expects to be sued.
Today, lawsuits over construction defects are a given on every condo project, no matter how thoughtfully designed or carefully built. Lawsuits are so commonplace that the cost of liability insurance -- just like glass, steel, concrete and carpet -- is now built into the price of every unit.
Click here for Mold & Litigation: Move in, then sue somebody - With lawsuits inevitable, insurance adds $5,000 to price of condos (MSNBC - Dec 19, 2005) |
Mold & Technology: CFTRI develops new technology for detecting aflatoxigenic fungi (Business Standard, India - Dec 15, 2005)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  Mysore’s prestigious Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) has developed two new technologies — improver mix for bread, bun and rolls, and automatic continuous cooker. It has also obtained two US patents for detection of harmful bacteria and fungi in foods.
The improver mix for yeast leavened bakery products like breads, buns and rolls can improve quality of these products considerably.
Click here for Mold & Technology: CFTRI develops new technology for detecting aflatoxigenic fungi (Business Standard, India - Dec 15, 2005) |
Mold & Technology: New mold remediation product (Construction and Maintenance News, Belarus - Dec 21, 2005)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  Roof-A-Cide has received EPA Acceptance and Registration of new mold remediation product, Rid-A- Mold. Rid-A-Mold has been independently tested and verified to kill 99.999% of most forms of bacteria and mold within 30 seconds of surface contact. Building and Construction Professionals can now pre-treat construction materials to minimize the chances of costly mold problems in new construction and remodeling.
Application should be made by trained applicators only. Remedial treatment of mold on construction materials consists of, but is not limited to, plywood, roof sheeting, OSB board, trusses, wood studs, furring strips, support members, exterior siding, baseboards, CBS block and concrete tie beams.
Click here for Mold & Technology: New mold remediation product (Construction and Maintenance News, Belarus - Dec 21, 2005) |
Mold & Technology: Mold solution spawns national award (Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber, WA - Dec 21, 2005)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  The Vashon Island School District is among only six schools and districts selected nationally to receive the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools (IAQ) 2006 Excellence Award for its efforts to improve indoor air quality.
The winners are selected from hundreds of schools and districts nationwide which have implemented IAQ management programs and seen improvements in indoor air quality, according to a press release from the district. The award is EPA’s most prestigious honor, recognizing exemplary indoor air quality programs and commitment to providing a healthy learning environment for students and staff.
Click here for Mold & Technology: Mold solution spawns national award (Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber, WA - Dec 21, 2005) |
Mold & Technology: Cement housing shrugs off wind, mold (Bradenton Herald, United States - Dec 18, 2005)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  Here's a question for homeowners about to rebuild along the hurricane-shattered Gulf Coast. Why rebuild with standard materials at risk to get swept away when the next storm blows through with a vengeance?
A superior storm-hardy solution might be insulating concrete forms. These reinforced concrete walls can give homeowners a fighting chance when hurricanes muscle a path through Southern states.
Click here for Mold & Technology: Cement housing shrugs off wind, mold (Bradenton Herald, United States - Dec 18, 2005) |
Mold Professionals: Mold Litigation Consulting
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  Some people already know this, but if you don't, here it is. For quite some time, I have been acting as a mold litigation consultant on various matters. I consult with Plaintiffs and Claimants - or potential Plaintiffs and Claimants; Defendants and potential defendants; attorneys; and expert witnesses.
Depending on who retains me, and when, I will:
- Analyze a person's property damage and personal injuries
- Conduct a property inspection
- Review medical records
- Determine if there is a causal link between the property damage and personal injuries
- Research what needs to be done to prove -- or disprove -- the property damage, the personal injuries, and any causal link
- Determine what entity or entities might have caused property damage
- Review insurance policies to determine if insurance coverage is available for the claims
- Determine what kind of experts need to be retained to prove or disprove a case
- Provide referrals to experts
- Prepare expert witnesses for depositions
- Prepare written discovery
- Prepare attorneys for questioning of expert witnesses
Keep in mind that in doing this, I am retained as an attorney. What I do is attorney-client and attorney work-product privileged.
Click here for Mold Professionals: Mold Litigation Consulting |
Mold Professionals: Har-Bro
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ HAR-BRO is the largest and most experienced disaster restoration company in California and Nevada. With seven offices strategically located in Southern and Northern California, Nevada and Arizona. HAR-BRO can respond immediately to any disaster with the appropriate, experienced personnel, state-of-the-art equipment and materials. More than 200 experienced employees are dedicated to the company’s number one goal: Customer Satisfaction.
Har-Bro work around the clock to be there when you need us. For emergency services, take comfort in knowing that you can rely on HAR-BRO.
Click here for Mold Professionals: Har-Bro |
Mold Investigation: Clark Seif Clark, Inc.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  CSC, Inc. is an environmental consulting firm headquartered in Chatsworth CA with a staff of engineers, geologists, certified industrial hygienists and other technically-trained professionals has investigated and managed hundreds of sites. We have a full understanding of the requirements outlined in CERCLA, RCRA, NEPA, TSCA, AHERA and HUD, as well as other federal, state and local environmental regulations.
Moisture Control is the key for microbial management. Moisture in buildings can be in the form of water vapor or as a liquid. The presence of moisture on the surface of building materials or inside structural components is the primary factor in sustaining microbial growth, which may lead to exposure to microbial emissions of spores and their metabolites, such as particle-containing mycotoxins and microbial Volatile organic compounds (mVOCs).
Click here for Mold Investigation: Clark Seif Clark, Inc. |
For Fun: JibJab - George Bush's Year in Review 2 - 0 - 5
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  Jib Jab are the folks that bought you the infamous -- or infamous -- campaign ditty, "This Land is is Your Land." Where else can you see Dick Rumsfeld in a chorus line?
Click here for For Fun: JibJab - George Bush's Year in Review 2 - 0 - 5 |
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