As we all know drugs are a huge part of today's society. Pharmaceutical drugs are used everyday in almost every household, and the uses of these drugs can range from using them for simple headache to using them to help prevent blood clots. However, regardless of their uses they all seem to come with some type of side effect. A team of chemist working for the U.S. Department of Energy has set forth in finding the cause of these side effects. According to the team, drugs made by natural sugars interfere with the natural cellular processes that take place in your body which causes the processes to slow down or maybe even come to a complete halt, in opposition to rare sugars, which do not interfere with cellular processes The team goes on to discuss how these rare sugars contain enzymes that help reduce the interference rate which will then ultimately prevent the side effect of the drug being used. Although the team is on the right track to finding the solution to prevent side effects, they are concerned that natural enzymes are not "well-suited" for industrial uses, so therefore are trying to engineer mutations in enzymes to improve their reaction rate. But, if you alter an enzyme, will it still be considered "natural"?
References: http://phys.org/news/2014-09-enzyme-synthesis-rare-sugars-drugs.html
That's so cool! It would be wonderful if there was a way for us to take drugs and not have to worry about the risks of stupid side effects. Sometimes I wonder if using the drug is worth it at all! I don't think the enzymes will be natural after someone has gone in and messed with it. It may be the closest thing they have to being natural and it may be the best for you, but it still wouldn't be completely "natural". I like to think of it in the same way I think about organic foods. Sure, it's the best for you, but those foods are still being messed with in order to make it to your grocery stores which makes them not 100% organic. Awesome job with your post!
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