The Chemistry of Life: Fermentation

In the late 1800s, chemists in Europe sought to uncover the chemical
basis for alcoholic fermentation in hopes of improving the quantity
and quality of beer and wine production. In 1897, the German chemist
Eduard Buchner discovered that an extract of yeast cells could be used
in vitro (outside a living cell) to convert glucose to carbon dioxide and
ethanol under anaerobic conditions. The finding that yeast proteins could
function as chemical catalysts in the fermentation reaction demonstrated
that this chemical process was not mystical but rather based on the fundamental
principles of chemistry. Indeed, deconstructing fermentation
outside a living cell ushered in the modern era of biochemistry.