Umami comes from the Japanese for "taste," applied to savory flavors. The four basic tastes are sweet, sour, bitter, and salty. Umami is...

Kimchi, a Korean fermented delicacy, is popular throughout the world, made by activity of billions of microbes. Ingredients vary but...

A sourdough starter is a living mixture of microbes, flour and water giving sourdough its unique flavor and texture. Often called the...

Vibrio cholerae is the bacterium responsible for cholera, one of history's most destructive diseases. Cholera is an infection of the...

Bacteria communicate using autoinducers, or signals. Autoinducers help bacteria coordinate their actions. In quorum sensing they inspire...

Quorum sensing enables microorganisms to communicate effectively. This coordinates behavior among bacterial communities. In quorum...

Pheromones are communication tools. Chemical substances released by an organism into the environment trigger responses to relay...

Cellular communication is a complex signaling system of living organisms from single-celled fungi to massive bodies. Cells use signals to...

Oxidation and fermentation both are used by organisms to extract energy from molecules. These operate in distinct ways and under...

Fructose is a simple sugar, a member of the carbohydrate family. It's found especially in fruits and honey. Fructose is known for...

Yeast is a single-celled organism, multiplying rapidly in the presence of sugar. Its products differ in aerobic and anaerobic conditions....

Fermentation is a vital step in brewing, transforming sweet wort into beer. While the initial stages of malting, mashing and making the...

Fermentation is a natural process for generating energy in anaerobic environments. Microorganisms like yeast and lactic acid bacteria...

Streptococcus is among the lactic acid bacteria (LAB), who include genera such as Lactobacillus . Besides LAB many species of...

Fatty acids are components of fats, with significant effects on environment and humans. Long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs) and short-chain...

Fatty acids are compounds with strong functions in biological processes of the human body. Found in plants, microbes to the largest...

Acidosis is a medical condition characterized by increased acidity in body fluids like mucus, sweat, tears and urine and sometimes blood....

D-Galactose and L-Galactose are forms of the simple sugar galactose . They have the same molecular formula but differ in structure and...

Lactic acidosis is caused by the way bodies manage metabolism. A progressive medical condition, lactic acidosis is characterized by...

Food acids include citric, acetic, malic, tartaric and lactic acid. They have numerous uses in nature, health and cuisine, each with...