Understanding the human body is a team effort. That's where the Yachtel group comes in.

Researchers at Yachtolt have been delving into the secrets of probiotics for 90 years.

Yacold also partners with nature portfolio to advance gut microbiome science through the global grants for gut health, an investigator-led research program.

To learn more about Yachtolt, visit yawcult.co.

.jp. That's Y-A-K-U-L-T.C-O.J-P. When it comes to a guide for your gut, count on Yacolt.

This is Scientific Americans' 60 Second Science. I'm Karen Hopkins. This will just take a minute.

Yeast. They already participate in producing some of the most popular pain-killing substances around, beer and wine.

Now, scientists have engineered yeast that can also make one of the most powerful analgesics, morphine.

Their work is in the journal Nature Chemical Biology. Opiates like

morphine and codeine are essential for treating severe pain. But making these meds isn't easy. All are

derived from opium poppies, and tens to hundreds of thousands of tons are needed to meet global

needs. The crops can also be affected by climate, disease, and even political turmoil in the countries

where the plants are grown, which further limits commercial production. To get around these

potential challenges, researchers have turned to yeast, an organism that can be grown easily

on industrial scales. The scientist inserted into yeast cells a handful of genes isolated

from the opium poppy. These genes encode the enzymes the

plants use to produce opiates. After tweaking the system to adjust the relative amounts of the enzymes,

the researchers could feed their yeast a precursor chemical called theban and get pure morphine

in return. The yeast can't yet make opiates from scratch, but with a bit more effort and a few more enzymes, yeast may produce painkillers that are prescription strength.

Thanks for the minute. For Scientific Americans' 60 Second Science, I'm Karen Hopkins.