Microbiology and Digestive System Basics
Ever wondered how scientists grow bacteria in labs without contaminating everything? Aseptic techniques are your best friend here. You'll lift petri dish lids towards a flame to sterilise the air, spread your culture evenly on agar, add antibiotic drops, and incubate at 25°C with partial taping to allow aerobic respiration.
Binary fission is how bacteria reproduce - basically they just split in two. Simple but effective!
Your digestive system is like a food processing factory. Teeth mechanically break down food while amylase in saliva starts chemical breakdown. Your stomach uses hydrochloric acid and enzymes whilst churning everything with muscular walls.
The liver produces bile (stored in the gall bladder) which emulsifies lipids into droplets, increasing surface area for better digestion. The small intestine's duodenum handles carbohydrates and starts on lipids, while the ileum finishes off proteins and carbs, absorbing nutrients into your bloodstream.
Quick Tip: Remember that mechanical digestion physically breaks food down, whilst chemical digestion uses enzymes and acids to break molecular bonds.
