Usefulness

• The process by which microorganisms convert a sugar into an acid or an alcohol is known as fermentation.
• Lactobacillus makes milk acidic. This converts lactose sugar into lactic acid.
• Yeast is commonly used to make food items such as bread, idli, dosas.
• Yeast is also used in making alcoholic drinks such as wines and beers via fermentation.
• Bacteria are used in the production of cheese, yogurt, pickles, sauerkraut, etc.
• Fungi and bacteria are used to make antibiotics. The first antibiotic was penicillin.
• Penicillin was discovered by Alexander Fleming by using the fungus Penicillium.
• Other antibiotics -> oxytetracycline, streptomycin.
• Vaccines?

  contain disease causing microbes that are either dead or weakened to prohibit any disease.
• How does vaccine work?

  when a vaccine is induced, specific antibodies are produced to counter the effect of these dead/weakened microbes. these antibodies remain in the body to provide immunity against these disease causing microbes.
• This technique is known as vaccination.
• Examples of Vaccinations - tuberculosis, polio, hepatitis.
• First vaccine was developed by Edward Jenner against smallpox.