Wednesday, September 6, 2006

Enzymology - The Next Generation

drj writes "This thought-provoking overview of current enzymology in The Scientist [free registration required] briefly introduces advances in structural studies, mechanistic theories, ribozymes, and potential commercial applications. My favorite was conceiving of the cell as a network of enzymes operating at rates determined by their (intrinsic) Km and the concentration of substrates and cofactors. Not a new idea, perhaps, but well described and evocative. The network is dramatized by these mapping of metabolic pathways and cellular and molecular processes (through ExPASy, courtesy of Roche). (originally posted on MedDot.org)

"Enzymology's New Frontiers" M. Greener, The Scientist. 2004;Vol. 18 1:16-20 January 19, 2004"

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Review 2

Science has a review of enzymology theory that is heavy-duty but contains such nuggets as (1) enzyme catalysis can accelerate reactions as much as 10^19 fold (!) and (2) enzymes work by binding and stabilizing the transition state (Pauling reminder).
"How Enzymes Work: Analysis by Modern Rate Theory and Computer Simulations" by M. Garcia-Viloca, J. Gao, M. Karplus, and D. Truhlar. Science 303:186 (Jan 9, 2004) PubMed [nih.gov]