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?