Chemspy chemistry news and views

Unlocking new talents in nature: Protein engineers create new biocatalysts - Protein engineers have tapped into a hidden talent of one of nature's most versatile catalysts. The enzyme cytochrome P450 is nature's premier oxidation catalyst -- a protein that typically promotes reactions that add oxygen atoms to other chemicals. Now the researchers have engineered new versions of the enzyme, unlocking its ability to drive a completely different and synthetically useful reaction that does not take place in nature.(10.1126/science.1231434)

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