Chinese scientists achieve the first synthesis of sugar from methanol

White sugar is not only a seasoning in the kitchen, but also an important strategic material for maintaining national economy and people’s livelihood. For centuries, its production has been highly dependent on the cultivation of sugarcane and sugar beets, limited by land, water sources, and climate. However, a recent breakthrough study by the Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, is bringing about subversive changes in this traditional pattern. For the first time, an in vitro biotransformation system was constructed, successfully converting methanol – a “liquid sunlight” that can be efficiently synthesized from carbon dioxide – into the familiar sucrose, opening up a new technological path for safe and carbon neutral sugar industry under extreme conditions.