galactose

[guh-lak-tohs]

noun

Chemistry.

1. a white, crystalline, water-soluble hexose sugar, C 6 H 12 O 6 , obtained in its dextrorotatory form from milk sugar by hydrolysis and in its levorotatory form from mucilages.

galactose

/ -əʊs, ɡəˈlæktəʊz /

noun

1. a white water-soluble monosaccharide found in lactose. Formula: C 6 H 12 O 6

galactose

1. A monosaccharide commonly occurring in lactose and in certain pectins, gums, and mucilages. Chemical formula: C ₆ H ₁₂ O ₆ .

Word History and Origins

Origin of galactose¹

First recorded in 1865–70; galact- + -ose ²

Example Sentences

Lactose, or milk sugar, is a disaccharide made of two simple sugars – glucose and galactose – in a 1:1 ratio.

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Following her illness, Mills was diagnosed with galactosaemia, a rare genetic disorder affecting up to one in 45,000 babies which prevents her body from turning galactose into glucose.

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All mammals, including humans, make milk with carbohydrates in the same unique form: lactose, a sugar that is a fusion of two other sugars called galactose and glucose.

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Yet Keasling claims his team is the first to develop a process that relies only on sugar—his yeast can make cannabinoids from galactose alone without requiring additional, more expensive ingredients.

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In total, they needed to make 16 genetic modifications to transform galactose into inactive forms of THC or CBD.

Read more on Nature

Related Words

• cellulose 
• glucose 
• lactose 
• starch 
• sugar