In the second stage, lactic-acid molecules are linked into long chains, or polymers, in chemical-reaction vessels, to produce PLA. What Dr Lee and his colleagues have succeeded in doing, as they report in Biotechnology and Bioengineering, is to produce PLA directly, in a one-stage process, in bacteria.

ECONOMIST: Synthetic biology

The researchers expected to see a build-up of lactic acid and an acidic environment in the brain, as seen in other organs suffering from oxygen deprivation.

BBC: NEWS | Health | Smoking diseases alter the brain

Gruber knew all this, but he also knew that some lactobacilli, the bacteria used to make yogurt, naturally excrete just the left-handed version of lactic acid.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Its precursor, molecules of lactic acid, exists in two forms, so-called left-handed and right-handed versions.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Another problem brought on by a late-night bender: When breaking down alcohol, your body pumps out lactic acid and other byproducts that impede the production of glucose (sugar) and electrolytes (salts and other minerals that keep your body functioning properly).

FORBES: Magazine Article