BRAINCAKE

Discovery of Glycolysis

Edexcel A-level BiologyCellular RespirationLesson 14 of 20

For much of the 19th century, scientists argued about how fermentation happens. Louis Pasteur showed that the fermentation of sugar is carried out by living yeast, and he believed it could only happen inside intact living cells.

In 1897 Eduard Buchner ground yeast with sand and pressed out a cell-free extract. When he added sugar, it still fermented, producing ethanol and carbon dioxide. This showed that fermentation is caused by enzymes (which he called zymase), not by some 'vital force' of the living cell. Buchner won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1907, and his work helped to found biochemistry.

Sign in free to see the rest of this lesson, the R.E.C.I.P.E. recall steps and the quiz

BrainCake is free. Make an account in seconds and pick up where this page stops.

More in Cellular Respiration

All 20 lessons in Cellular Respiration · All Edexcel A-level Biology topics