In the absence of the gas oxygen, certain living things are capable of breaking down carbohydrates (starches and sugars) to form alcohol and carbon dioxide gas. This process is known as anaerobic respiration or fermentation, and it has been used for centuries in the production of certain foods and beverages.

Throughout history, the process of fermentation was shrouded in mystery and superstition. Many thought that the process was spontaneous, just as they believed that life arose spontaneously from nonliving things. During the seventeenth century, English chemist Robert Boyle proclaimed that an understanding of the fermentation process would lead to an understanding of the cause of other phenomena like disease. His prediction came true two centuries later. In the mid 1800s, a French scientist, Charles Cagniard de Latour, first discovered that tiny living cells called yeast can cause fermentation. This paved the way for the seminal experiments on yeast...