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Scientists unlock secrets of how the third form of life makes energy
- chasil 2y agoWhat I am getting from this is that archaea make extremely efficient digestive enzymes that target (diatomic?) hydrogen. Was there anything else that I missed?
- photochemsyn 2y agoThe paper itself is very approachable: https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(24)00573-7 https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(24)00573-7 In terms of broader interest to people who don't find strange microbial beasties that survive in unique environments via weird metabolic capabilities inherently fascinating, there are some plausible applications to small-molecule industrial chemistry: > "The ultraminimal hydrogenases also provide ideal templates both to understand enzymatic H2 catalysis, for example, determinants of rate, directionality, affinity, and oxygen sensitivity, as well as flexible scaffolds for directed evolution of efficient H2-converting biocatalysts."