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Calvin-Benson cycle

Botanist Timothy Walker describes how Andrew Benson and Melvin Calvin discovered the secrets of the biochemistry of photosynthesis. For the first time, they had understood exactly how plants split carbon from carbon dioxide to make sugar, identifying the key compounds and stages of the process. Using a radioactive isotope of carbon, they could trace a carbon atom's journey through the light-independent reactions of photosynthesis (also known as the Calvin-Benson cycle).

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6 minutes