Petr Kuzmic wrote:
> I think it is particularly amusing from today's perspective that Mr.
> Henri imagined the enzyme exerting its catalytic influence without a
> direct physical contact with the substrate (see problem 2.2 p. 37 of
> Athel Cornish-Bowden "Fundamentals..." 1979 edition).
The idea that enzymes exerted their action at a distance was quite
popular at the time. I believe that Debru discusses this issue in his
book "L'esprit des protéines". The success of Newton's theory of
gravitation had made such notions fashionable throughout science.
By 1903, when he wrote his paper on the mathematical basis of
enzyme kinetics, Henri had clearly given up the idea that
action-at-a-distance was a serious possibility.
Marc R. Roussel
(roussel at uleth.ca)
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
University of Lethbridge
