Enzymes can speed reactions by a million times or more
Protein catalysts bind substrates in precise pockets, speeding life’s chemistry by a millionfold or more at body temperature — without boiling the cell.
Each enzyme is tuned to a job: digest starch, copy DNA, detoxify toxins. Shape is the secret; lock-and-key and induced-fit both apply.
Biology’s factories are molecular. Warmth alone would be too slow; enzymes make metabolism possible on a human timescale.
Shahzad Mahota
Enzymes can speed reactions by a million times or more
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