Page 64 - The Miraculous Machine that Works for an Entire Lifetime: Enzyme

Harun Yahya

that need to take place relatively slowly. The enzyme that copies DNA,

for example, cannot work any faster, while those enzymes that break
down toxic substances in the body must not slow down at all. Also,
some enzymes give off hydrogen peroxide as a byproduct of their re-
actions. And as we know, this is a combustive substance, powerful
enough to dissolve and destroy all the organs in the human body. That
such a dangerous substance emerges as the byproduct of cell metabo-
lism is astonishing, but also potentially hazardous. For that reason, hy-
drogen peroxide needs to be eliminated before it can damage any of the
body's tissues.
Therefore, an important precaution has been taken for the body.

The enzymes that produce hydrogen peroxide are kept inside special
organelles known as peroxisomes. These organelles contain a high lev-
el of the enzyme catalase, which breaks down the hydrogen peroxide
38
before it can spread to body tissues. This enzyme can break down up
to 5 million hydrogen peroxide molecules a minute, turn them into
harmless water and oxygen. The activation energy required for this is
18,000 calories per molecule. If the enzyme catalase did not undertake
this function, and if the iron atom attempted the task by itself, it would
take some 300 years to break down a single hydrogen peroxide mole-
cule. 39
In order to break down 5 million hydrogen peroxide molecules, an
activation energy of 5,000,000 x 18,000 = 90,000,000,000 calories would

be necessary. Not all the food consumed and all the energy released by
all the living things on Earth would be enough to provide that level of
energy. 40
Duane T. Gish expresses the importance of the enzyme catalase
and how it could not have come into being by chance:
There could be no selection of any kind in an inanimate environment. For
example, hydrogen peroxide, highly toxic to living cells, is a metabolic
product of cellular activity. We therefore possess an incredibly efficient

62