How designing brand-new enzymes could change the world | Adam Garske

Summary

This TED Talk delves into the wonder of enzymes, nature's catalysts, and their role in various aspects of life, from the vibrant hues of cranberries to the cheese-making process. The speaker, a chemist, illustrates how enzymes like chymosin curdle milk and how modern science harnesses directed evolution to design custom enzymes for applications such as cold-water laundry detergents, potentially reducing environmental impact. The talk also explores the future of enzyme design in health and environmental solutions, showcasing their transformative potential.

Takeaways

• 🌿 The speaker grew up in Wisconsin with a deep appreciation for nature, which later influenced their interest in chemistry and enzymes.
• 🧀 Enzymes like chymosin, found in the stomachs of ruminants, have been used for at least 7,000 years in the cheese-making process to curdle milk.
• 🔬 Enzymes are proteins that act as catalysts to speed up chemical reactions, playing a role in various natural and human-made processes.
• 💡 The basic building blocks of enzymes are amino acids, which are arranged in specific sequences to give each enzyme its unique properties.
• 🔬🔬 Modern science can create enzymes in microbes by inserting DNA sequences that code for desired enzymes, allowing for the production of enzymes like chymosin without the need for animal stomachs.
• 🛠️ The process of directed evolution enables scientists to design custom enzymes by making iterative changes to amino acid sequences and testing their effectiveness.
• 👕 Enzymes in laundry detergents can break down stains on clothes, and new enzyme designs aim to make cold water washing as effective as warm water, saving energy and reducing carbon emissions.
• 🏥 Enzymes are being developed for various health applications, including making drugs more efficiently and treating specific disorders like phenylketonuria (PKU).
• 🌍 There is ongoing research into designing enzymes to address environmental challenges, such as degrading plastics, capturing greenhouse gases, and producing biodegradable materials.
• 🔮 The future of enzyme design holds promise for advancements in health, environmental conservation, and other areas through faster evolutionary techniques, machine learning, and the incorporation of unnatural amino acids.
• 🎓 The speaker concludes by emphasizing the creative potential of enzymes, highlighting their current impact and the potential for even greater contributions in the future.

Q & A

What are the four distinct natural experiences mentioned by the speaker in their childhood?

The speaker mentions the fragrance of lilacs in spring, the glow of fireflies in summer, the bright red of cranberries in the bogs during fall, and the Christmassy bouquet from pine trees in winter.

What is the commonality between the scents of lilacs and pines, the red of cranberries, and the glow of fireflies?

All these natural phenomena are manufactured by enzymes, which are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions.

What is the role of chymosin in cheese-making?

Chymosin is a key enzyme used in cheese-making that causes milk to curdle by binding to a protein called casein and clipping it, acting like a molecular scissors.

How did the speaker and their son Anthony assist in the preparation for the TED Talk?

Anthony helped the speaker in the kitchen by slicing pineapples, extracting enzymes from red potatoes, and conducting various demonstrations to find a suitable demo for the TED Talk.

What is the fundamental role of enzymes in biological processes?

Enzymes act as laborers that carry out the instructions encoded in DNA, speeding up or accelerating chemical reactions in various biological processes.

What are the basic building blocks of enzymes?

The basic building blocks of enzymes are amino acids, with 20 common ones typically designated with single-letter abbreviations.

How do scientists create enzymes in microbes?

Scientists insert a piece of DNA that codes for the desired enzyme into a microbe, allowing the microbe to use its own machinery to produce the enzyme.

What is the significance of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry?

The 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded for the development of directed evolution, an approach that enables the design of enzymes for custom purposes.

How can enzymes in laundry detergent help with cleaning clothes?

Enzymes in laundry detergent help break down stains on clothes, similar to how enzymes in the body break down food, making it easier to clean clothes even in cold water.

What is the potential environmental benefit of doing laundry in cold water?

If all households in the US did laundry in cold water, it could save the emissions of 32 metric tons of CO2 each year, equivalent to the emissions of 6.3 million cars.

How do scientists design an enzyme for a specific application, such as cleaning laundry?

Scientists start with an enzyme that has some initial activity, modify its amino acids by adding, removing, or rearranging them, and then test these variants to see which ones perform better in the desired task, such as stain removal.

What are some future applications of enzyme design in human health and the environment?

Designed enzymes could be used to make drugs more efficiently, treat specific disorders like phenylketonuria, degrade plastics, produce biodegradable plastics, and capture greenhouse gases.