Catalyze
(To the tune of "Close to You")
Copyright 2009 Kevin Ahern
I am very pleased that Barbara and Neal Gladstone have made a professional recording of this song (complete song downloadable HERE) and others can be downloaded HERE. You will need to unzip the file to release the MP3. I am providing all songs for free download, but hope you will support this effort by purchasing my Metabolic Melody albums or calendar at the URLs at the bottom of the lyrics to this song. (Also, check out Neal Gladstone's Music at http://nealgladstone.com/wd/ng/)

My enzymes
Truly are inclined
To convert
Things they bind
Turn the key
Covalently
Cat-a-lyze

How do cells
Regulate these roles?
Allo-ster
-ic controls
Two forms, see
States R and T
Mod-u-late

Competing inhibition keeps 
The substrates from the active site
They raise Km, but leave Vmax and shirk
While the non-competers bind elsewhere
And lift the plot made on Lineweaver-Burk

Other ways
Enzymes can be blocked
When things bind
Then get locked
Stuck not free
Tied to the key
Su-i-cide

Penicillin’s action stops
Peptidoglycan cross-links in
Bacterial cell walls in awesome ways
Beta lactam ring’s reactive site
Starts bonding with D-D-transpeptidase

So there are
Several enzyme states
Counteract
-ing substrates
Now you see
Blocking the key
Regulates

Cat-a-lysts
Have to be controlled
Some get slowed
Put on hold
It's sublime
How the enzymes
(slow) Cat-a-lyze

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh - cat-a-lyze
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh - cat-a-lyze
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh - cat-a-lyze

Support the Metabolic Melodies

Book
The Metabolic Melody Songbook HERE

Calendar
Metabolic Melodies calendar for 2010 HERE

Complete list of Metabolic Melodies HERE