Now in our 13th year of bringing you beautiful imagery from biomedical science every day

Search the archive of over 4000 images

Fungus Factors
08 January 2016

Fungus Factors

It's a mouldy old world we live in. Every day we inhale tiny particles of the mould Aspergillus just like these, magnified 20,000 times under an electron microscope. While it doesn't cause problems for most people, Aspergillus can lead to serious or even life-threatening fungal infections (known as aspergillosis) in those with weak immune systems. But while there are many different species of Aspergillus growing in the environment, one of them – Aspergillus fumigatus (top) – causes 80 per cent of infections, while others – such as Aspergillus nidulans (bottom) hardly ever cause disease. The difference comes down to a sugary molecule on the surface of the fungus cells. Infectious Aspergillus nidulans particles are thickly covered in the stuff (arrowed), making them more resistant to the fungus-fighting powers of the immune system. Other species have much less of it, so they're quickly cleared away before an infection can take hold.

Written by Kat Arney

Search The Archive

Submit An Image

Follow on Tumblr

Follow on Instagram

What is BPoD?

BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

Read More

BPoD is also available in Catalan at www.bpod.cat with translations by the University of Valencia.