Researcher describes sickening smell from fungi post-Hurricane Katrina and how her lab now uses various approaches including Drosophila studies to help identify and study volatile fungal toxins

Bennett JW. Silver linings: a personal memoir about Hurricane Katrina and fungal volatiles. Front Microbiol. 2015 Mar 18;6:206. PMID: 25852666; PMCID: PMC4364291.

From the abstract: "In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina ... I traveled home with a suitcase full of Petri dishes and sampling equipment so as to study the fungi ... the air itself was full of concentrated mold odor ... The smell made me feel bad and I had to take regular breaks as I sampled. ... So why was I feeling sick? ..."