Glycan

If in the English-speaking world, one still uses the term carbohydrates,
this is not the case in French, where one uses the term glucides to replace
hydrates de carbone. This is because of recent advances in biochemistry,
in particular the study of glycans. Sugars are less interesting in
and of themselves, but rather in their conjugates with proteins and fats - known as
glycans - and giving rise to glycobiology.

Glycans are the object of many viruses, and are involved in the recognition of
sugar bound proteins by the immune system,  at the root of auto-immune illnesses.
They are also involved in the propagation of cancers.