Climate change fuels spread of dangerous Aspergillus fungus

(NewsNation) — A warming climate and the use of fungicides are fueling the spread of a dangerous fungus that can eat you from the inside out, a new study finds.

Fungus makes up an essential part of the ecosystem, and people breathe in countless spores every day, most of them harmless.

But a small group of dangerous molds can cause harm to humans, devastate crops and wreak havoc on ecosystems.

Warming temperatures, a growing population of people vulnerable to infection and the widespread use of fungicides are creating new opportunities for resistant fungi to spread, a new preprint study in Research Square found.

Researchers studied how three species of Aspergillus might spread through the rest of the century, including different climate change scenarios.

They found that a model that assumes humans continue to be dependent on fossil fuels could lead to the spread of Aspergillus throughout Europe, even as parts of Africa would become too hot for the fungus to........

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