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Chemistry

How Enzymes Lower Activation Energy: A Kinetic Analysis of Michaelis-Menten

Quick fact

Enzymes lower the activation energy of a reaction by binding the transition state with higher affinity than the substrate, which can accelerate the reaction by up to 10^17-fold.

Why this is interesting

Enzymes can accelerate reactions by factors of a million or more, yet they don't change the final outcome. What allows them to make a reaction that's thermodynamically favorable so fast?