How does mold seemingly appear out of nowhere as long as there are moist conditions?
In: Biology
Others have mentioned size, but it’s important to understand that mold evolved before dirt. So the thing about spores for molds is that they do not actually need to have a nutrient soil kind of matrix in which to fall. They just need the thinnest layers and the tiniest cracks to begin their work. Different molds like different surfaces and need different kinds of support. All there needs to really be is a little bit of chemical potential and enough stickiness for them to adhere. And at those scales water equals sticky. Also mold doesn’t have the complex biological clocks that require a minimum and impose a maximum growth speed. They simply grow as fast as conditions provide.
So yes mold spores are tiny and everywhere. But they also pretty much work everywhere. any place that isn’t suitable for one kind of mold is likely suitable for another. And there are so many millions if not billions of kinds of mold that every place has the potential to grow something.
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