The Complex Life of Sugars - Sugar Snake

This is part of a series of videos produced by scientists at the John Innes Centre as part of the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition "Sweet Complexity- The Complex Life of Sugars." Sugars (or carbohydrates) have very important roles in Nature. Carbohydrates have two major functions in living systems: they provide a source of energy and they are the starting point for most biomaterials.

Sugar Snake

In this video Michael and Ellis demonstrate the molecular structure of carbohydrates, which are made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Sulphuric acid is able to dehydrate the sugar, removing water (H2O), leaving behind a solid lump of carbon.

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