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How do cells switch between full glucose oxidation and partial breakdown without oxygen?

Submitted by anonymous » Thu 05-Feb-2026, 01:13

Subject Area: General

2 member ratings

Hey everyone, so I've been thinking about this a lot lately after that brutal hike last weekend where I pushed way too hard up the last hill. My legs were burning like crazy, and I could literally feel them switching to some kind of backup mode just to keep moving. It got me wondering—how exactly do cells flip between doing the full-on glucose oxidation thing when there's plenty of oxygen around versus just partially breaking it down without any O2? Like, what triggers that shift so they don't completely stall out? Anyone got a simple way to picture it? I always thought it was just "no oxygen = fermentation," but it feels more nuanced than that in real life situations.

2 Comments 

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RE: How do cells switch between full glucose oxidation and partial breakdown without oxygen?

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By Roe » Thu 05-Feb-2026, 01:28, My rating: ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭

Sometimes I notice how plants and little critters handle low-oxygen spots totally differently than we do, like they'll keep going with whatever scraps of energy they can scrape together for way longer. Makes me think about how adaptable life really is at that tiny level, just quietly adjusting to whatever the environment throws at it without any fuss.

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