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Yeast

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We have all heard of yeast. It is used in the making of bread and beer. I wonder - can we have fun finding out about yeast? Come along and see.

How about making "Yeast Breath" (or Yeast: a helpful fungus* or Plants in a Bottle)? What is yeast breath? It is nothing more that CO2 or carbon dioxide. Yeast is a living organism and in the presence of air (oxygen), it breaks down sugar to produce CO2, water and energy (aerobic respiration). But guess what? Yeast can survive in an environment without oxygen. In this case, the sugar is incompletely broken down to produce CO2, alcohol and energy (anaerobic respiration). This process is called fermentation, as defined by Pasteur . Now, are you thinking, "how does the concentration of sugar affect the rate of fermentation"? Though so. The web site, How Long Will I Be Blue: A Yeast Fermentation Lab *, attempts to answer that question. Take a look. Of course, we all know that yeast is used in making bread.

Yeast are single celled fungi , which occur almost everywhere. They can be used as a bioindicator (organisms or communities of organisms which react to environmental effects by changing their vital functions and/or their chemical composition thus making it possible to draw conclusions on the state of their environment) of pollution. Leaf Leaf Experiment Protocol gives a method for the collection of leaves, in different areas, to determine the presence or absence of yeast on the collected samples. Conclusion regarding pollution are then drawn from the results.

The experiments that we have discussed so far have been pretty easy. Interested in something a little more challenging? OK. Click over to Welcome to Gene.... This site is quote"... Dedicated to rescuing teachers and other students from terminal boredom by helping them do real science with modern research organisms..."unquote. Yeast is used in the teaching of genetics. The introduction into genetics is followed by basic genetic experiments using yeast. I would think that this site is aimed at high school students.

The copyright of the article Yeast in Science Websites is owned by Patrice Bentham . Permission to republish Yeast in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.