Jessa Mae S.

Ohao
Biochemistry
October 10, 2020

Journal Reading/Critique
Enzymes
1. Enzymes are the catalyst functioning in biological system. Enzymes are usually
proteinaceous substances produced by living cells that catalyst biochemical reactions
without themselves being changed and consumed in the process. Enzymes are protein
catalysts. That is, they are protein molecules that help chemical reactions reach
equilibrium between products and reactants faster than would normally happen. One
way they do this is by “squishing” reactants together in a way they can react more
easily. They may also act by a ping-pong mechanism where they partake in the reaction
mechanism itself, transferring a chemical group. Enzymes are a necessity for life to
exist because the rates of many of the reactions necessary for life are much too slow to
take place on their own.
2. Objectives of the article.
- To analyze the recent biochemical and theoretical research of internal protein
dynamics which is connected to enzyme catalysis.
-To describe the integrated view of enzyme structure, dynamics and function which
have wide implications in understanding allosteric and co-operative effects.
-To detailed the characterization of the uncovered networks which signify that protein
dynamics plays a role in rate-enhancement achieved by enzymes. 
3. Enzymes are essential for helping our bodies function, initializing as a protein and act
as a biological catalyst to speed up chemical reactions. Without an enzyme, reactions
will take an excessively long time to spontaneously occur, in order to create products
that we need such as ATP. Through this, enzymes lower the activation energy (EA)
required for reactants to reach a definite transition state, releasing products, whereby
allowing the reaction proceed. Important to note, the aforementioned claim emphasizes
an immutable law of nature, energy is required to initiate a chemical reaction. Enzymes
are hyper-specific meaning that each enzyme can only catalyze a reaction specific to its
function. That is important to our bodies because without them processes such as
cellular respiration could not occur and generate efficient ATP.
4. Agarwal, P.K. Enzymes: An integrated view of structure, dynamics and
function. Microb Cell Fact 5, 2 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2859-5-2