Enzyme Directed Evolution

In this episode, we discussed recent research carried out by Frances Arnold, and many others, that has enabled enzymes to bind with non-organic matter to carry out specified functions catered to our modern world, which led us to reflect on the relationship between humans and nature.

How are the structure of enzymes, or proteins in general, regulated?

"Chaperones GroEL/GroES accelerate the refolding of a multidomain protein through modulating on-pathway intermediates" (Vinay Dahiya and Tapan K. Chaudhuri, 2014) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3879552/

What is enzyme directed evolution?

A simple and well-explained overview of what enzyme directed evolution is: https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/what-is-directed-evolution-and-why-did-it-win-the-chemistry-nobel-prize/3009584.article

Frances H. Arnold: Nobel Lecture in Chemistry 2018 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hOZ5e0g9Uo

What is the purpose of enzyme directed evolution?

Engineered enzyme first to forge carbon–silicon bond https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/engineered-enzyme-first-to-forge-carbon-silicon-bond/2500043.article

Directed Evolution of Cytochrome c for Carbon–Silicon Bond Formation: Bringing Silicon to Life (J.Kan, 2016)

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aah6219

Reflecting on the relationship between the built human world and the biological world, we mentioned Neri Oxman, who created the field of material ecology:

https://oxman.com/