
Enzymes
In Our Time: Science
00:00
The Effects of Enzymes on the Rate of Reactions
Within a cell, most enzymes can't work at their maximum rate because they're starting material. The chemicals they need to process are not present enough in high enough concentrations. So imagine it like this: you could be the world's fastest toffee eater - but if I don't give you any toffee, you can't eat toffee. You can't process toffee. And those amounts are very carefully regulated. This is why cells can respond to changes. Because if enzymes are always working at theirmaximum rate and the environment changes, how can the cell respond?
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