

But the molecules have to collide in a certain way for the reaction to occur. The enzyme binds to the molecules and lines them up, forcing them to collide in the “right” way, so the probability that the molecules will exchange atoms is much higher.

“Instead of just watching what the molecules do, we can mechanically prod them,” said Zocchi, the senior author of the research.




“Standing on the shoulders of 50 years of structural studies of proteins, we looked beyond the structural description at the dynamics, specifically the question of what forces – and applied where – have what effect on the reaction rates,” Zocchi said.

While Zocchi’s research may have applications for medicine and other fields, he emphasizes the advance in knowledge itself.