You remember how your parents warned you that eating cereals like Franken Berry and Frosted Flakes would kill you? Well, in the age of global warming, that may not be too far off the mark.

Australian researcher Lisa Bricknell, speaking at an environmental health conference, speculated that climate change could result in an epidemic of "killer cornflakes." That's because grains like corn and rye are increasingly being attacked by a killer fungus that thrives in the hot, damp weather that we're going to be seeing more and more of as the world heats up. The fungus has harmful mycotoxins that can cause liver failure and death if eaten in large quantities.

Bricknell acknowledged that the outbreak isn't right around the corner, but notes that the effects of the toxins have been known since the Middle Ages, when European rye bread was contaminated. "People started suffering mass hallucinations, manic depression, gangrene, reduced fertility and suffered a painful, convulsive death," Bricknell said.



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