What do I have here?

The_Metatron · #1 by **The_Metatron** » Jan 30, 2012 12:49 pm

Under the drip tray of my Senseo coffee maker is a pan to catch the drips after making coffee. In that pan, a wonderful mat of mold had grown on a layer of old coffee drippings.

I took these at 40x magnification with this microscope:

While holding my iPhone over the eyepiece and illuminating the stage with a handheld LED flashlight.

Any idea the type of mold this would be?

zulumoose · #2 by **zulumoose** » Jan 30, 2012 1:37 pm

t's not a mould, it is a forest, and If you look closely enough, you can see a hoo.

zulumoose · #3 by **zulumoose** » Jan 30, 2012 1:38 pm

Actually, if you look off to the right, you can see a duck swimming.

quisquose · #4 by **quisquose** » Jan 30, 2012 1:53 pm

zulumoose wrote:Actually, if you look off to the right, you can see a duck swimming.

Have you ever thought of becoming a pathologist?

Patient: Is it malignant or benign?

zulumoose: It's a duck.

:lol:

Calilasseia · #5 by **Calilasseia** » Jan 30, 2012 3:44 pm

Actually, I'd get that mould tested, fast. Because there's a possibility you could have one of these species of mould, particularly Aspergillus ochraceus or Aspergillus carbonarius. Both of these produce a mycotoxin called Ochratoxin A, which is a known carcinogen and mutagen. Which is why it's wise to clean out your drip tray regularly.

The_Metatron · #6 by **The_Metatron** » Jan 30, 2012 4:18 pm

Calilasseia wrote:Actually, I'd get that mould tested, fast. Because there's a possibility you could have one of these species of mould, particularly Aspergillus ochraceus or Aspergillus carbonarius. Both of these produce a mycotoxin called Ochratoxin A, which is a known carcinogen and mutagen. Which is why it's wise to clean out your drip tray regularly.

Of course, we don't drink the shit from that drip tray. I don't know what the hell my colleague is doing to fill that drip tray up.

DavidMcC · #7 by **DavidMcC** » Feb 02, 2012 12:30 pm

Could it be a lichen? :scratch:

Calilasseia · #8 by **Calilasseia** » Feb 03, 2012 2:08 am

DavidMcC wrote:Could it be a lichen?

Highly unlikely. Lichens comprise mutualist colonies, comprising two partners, one a fungal partner, the other an alga. In order for these to survive, they need to grow in places where the alga can photosynthesise, which usually means places with a certain minimum light intensity. The alga provides sugars from photosynthesis, whilst the fungal partner provides various minerals that are difficult for the alga itself to obtain from its surroundings. In some cases, a third partner, in the form of a cyanobacterium, is also present, which can fix atmospheric nitrogen, and thus add to the sharing of nutrients.

Whilst some lichens can survive in extreme environments, and indeed, in a 2005 experiment conducted upon a Soyuz mission, were found to be capable of surviving 15 days in the vacuum of Low Earth Orbit space, usually, they require a certain minimum amount of light in order to function. The paper covering the aforementioned Soyuz experiment is this one:

Lichens Survive in Space: Results from the 2005 LICHENS Experiment by Leopoldo G. Sancho, Rosa de la Torre, Gerda Horneck, Carmen Ascaso, Asunción de los Rios, Ana Pintado, J. Wierzchos, and M. Schuster, Astrobiology, 7(3): 443-454 (13th July 2007 publication date, article accepted June 2007) [Abstract available here - sadly, yet another paywall (sigh)]

Sancho et al, 2007 wrote:Abstract

This experiment was aimed at establishing, for the first time, the survival capability of lichens exposed to space conditions. In particular, the damaging effect of various wavelengths of extraterrestrial solar UV radiation was studied. The lichens used were the bipolar species Rhizocarpon geographicum and Xanthoria elegans, which were collected above 2000 m in the mountains of central Spain and as endolithic communities inhabiting granites in the Antarctic Dry Valleys. Lichens were exposed to space in the BIOPAN-5 facility of the European Space Agency; BIOPAN-5 is located on the outer shell of the Earth-orbiting FOTON-M2 Russian satellite. The lichen samples were launched from Baikonur by a Soyuz rocket on May 31, 2005, and were returned to Earth after 16 days in space, at which time they were tested for survival. Chlorophyll fluorescence was used for the measurement of photosynthetic parameters. Scanning electron microscopy in back-scattered mode, low temperature scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy were used to study the organization and composition of both symbionts. Confocal laser scanning microscopy, in combination with the use of specific fluorescent probes, allowed for the assessment of the physiological state of the cells. All exposed lichens, regardless of the optical filters used, showed nearly the same photosynthetic activity after the flight as measured before the flight. Likewise, the multimicroscopy approach revealed no detectable ultrastructural changes in most of the algal and fungal cells of the lichen thalli, though a greater proportion of cells in the flight samples had compromised membranes, as revealed by the LIVE/DEAD BacLight Bacterial Viability Kit. These findings indicate that most lichenized fungal and algal cells can survive in space after full exposure to massive UV and cosmic radiation, conditions proven to be lethal to bacteria and other microorganisms. The lichen upper cortex seems to provide adequate protection against solar radiation. Moreover, after extreme dehydration induced by high vacuum, the lichens proved to be able to recover, in full, their metabolic activity within 24 hours.

So, although lichens can survive in extreme environments, usually courtesy of their ability to resist dessication for extended periods of time, in a manner that resembles that of tardigrades, I suspect that they would not be able to function properly in a dark drip tray, because a certain minimum amount of light would be needed for photosynthesis and the proper metabolic exchanges.

Onyx8 · #9 by **Onyx8** » Feb 03, 2012 2:15 am

No, sorry, Metatron, it's all over for you, buddy. Too bad.

Can I have your microscope?

DougC · **#10** by **DougC** » Feb 03, 2012 2:22 am

Errrm, I'll just have a Coke, thanks.

Mr.Samsa · **#11** by **Mr.Samsa** » Feb 03, 2012 2:36 am

Calilasseia wrote:
DavidMcC wrote:Could it be a lichen?

Highly unlikely. Lichens comprise mutualist colonies, comprising two partners, one a fungal partner, the other an alga.

Hmm... then maybe it's a lycan? :think:

quisquose · **#12** by **quisquose** » Feb 03, 2012 8:56 am

When I see mould like that, I just know that there must be a God.

Doubtdispelled · **#13** by **Doubtdispelled** » Feb 03, 2012 10:26 am

Well I think it's whythefuckdoesntanyoneevercleanthecoffeemakerproperlygillus yuckycillius.

LucidFlight · **#14** by **LucidFlight** » Feb 03, 2012 10:34 am

It looks delicious — dark caramel brittle topped with green desiccated coconut.

The_Metatron · **#15** by **The_Metatron** » Feb 03, 2012 10:39 am

Doubtdispelled wrote:Well I think it's whythefuckdoesntanyoneevercleanthecoffeemakerproperlygillus yuckycillius.

That's sort of what I was thinking. I never grew that shit in my Senseo machine at home... I share this one at work.

Doubtdispelled · **#16** by **Doubtdispelled** » Feb 03, 2012 12:01 pm

The_Metatron wrote:
Doubtdispelled wrote:Well I think it's whythefuckdoesntanyoneevercleanthecoffeemakerproperlygillus yuckycillius.

That's sort of what I was thinking. I never grew that shit in my Senseo machine at home... I share this one at work.

I expect everyone thinks it's someone else's job.

And it makes me think of The Young Ones and their disgusting kitchen

But they were hilarious. :lol:

halucigenia · **#17** by **halucigenia** » Feb 04, 2012 2:09 pm

Doubtdispelled wrote:And it makes me think of The Young Ones and their disgusting kitchen.

Or their toilet :-

- even funnier :grin:

Doubtdispelled · **#18** by **Doubtdispelled** » Feb 04, 2012 6:51 pm

Oh, I'm gonna have to get some dvds and watch them all again! :smile: