A research group based out of the University of Michigan, and led by Vincent Pecoraro has successfully created a computer designed artificial enzyme that can serve as a catalyst for converting water and carbon dioxide into bicarbonate. In their paper published in Nature Chemistry, the team explains how their metalloprotein (a protein that contains a metal cofactor) mimics carbonic anhydrase and could conceivably lead to a means for removing some of the carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere that many now believe is contributing to global warming.
