Speed of Life

From: Spudboy100@aol.com
Date: Tue May 06 2003 - 06:32:16 MDT

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    http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/05/030506073321.htm

    <<CHAPEL HILL -- All biological reactions within human cells depend on
    enzymes. Their power as catalysts enables biological reactions to occur
    usually in milliseconds. But how slowly would these reactions proceed
    spontaneously, in the absence of enzymes - minutes, hours, days? And why even
    pose the question?

    One scientist who studies these issues is Dr. Richard Wolfenden, Alumni
    distinguished professor of biochemistry and biophysics and chemistry at the
    University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a member of the National
    Academy of Sciences. In 1998, he reported a biological transformation deemed
    "absolutely essential" in creating the building blocks of DNA and RNA would
    take 78 million years in water.

    "Now we've found one that's 10,000 times slower than that," Wolfenden said.
    "Its half-time - the time it takes for half the substance to be consumed - is
    1 trillion years, 100 times longer than the lifetime of the universe. Enzymes
    can make this reaction happen in 10 milliseconds."

    Wolfenden, along with co-authors Chetan Lad and Nicholas H. Williams of
    Sheffield University in England, published a report of their new findings
    April 29 in the online "early edition" of the Proceedings of the National
    Academy of Sciences. Print publication is slated for May 13.>>

        
        



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