Enzymes increase the rate of biochemical reactions. I became
fascinated with the structures of sugars and lost sight of the
fact that they are useful because enzymes can break them up.
Sucrose (C12H22O11), a
disaccharide, is a combination of two monosaccharides, glucose and
fructose (both with the chemical composition C6H12O6).
What distinguishes glucose from fructose is their chiral forms.
Chiral carbon structures are asymmetrical, like the thumb on a
hand; in sugars, a hydrogen sticks to one side and an
oxygen-hydrogen pair sticks to the other.
The disaccharide of glucose is maltose (C12H22O11).
Brewer’s yeast produces the enzyme Saccharomyces
cerevisiae to convert maltose during the brewing of beer into
ethanol (C2H5OH) and carbon dioxyde (CO2)
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