Expert: Walter Hintz - 3/11/2008

Question
Hi Walter, I understand that most enzymes are usually proteins but how exactly do they work?  And how are enzymes regulated in cells?  Thank you very much for your time.

Answer
Hi Claudia
First of all keep in mind that all enzymes are proteins.  Secondly the "how" questions are difficult to answer.  If you google "How do enzymes work" information on what they do but not exactly how. What they do is lower the amount of activation energy needed for a reaction to occur thus speeding it up.  But this does not tell us how. No doubt it has to do with the structure of the molecule in conjunction with the Laws of Chemistry. Again the "how " is missing. As to regulation of enzymes there are feedback mechanisms involved. In science everytime we solve a problem we only create more questions.