Quantum biology and Ockham’s razor

In a paper just published , a team of University of Bristol scientists explores whether new models or concepts are needed to tackle one of the 'grand challenges' of chemical biology: understanding enzyme catalysis. On a microscopic scale, nearly all the machinery that keeps our cells working involves chemical reactions of some sort and these reactions wouldn't happen without enzymes - natural catalysts which make reactions happen very quickly, fast enough for life to be possible. How do they do this?  Understanding enzyme catalysis is a fundamental problem in biology. Billions of years of evolution have made enzymes superb catalysts, but the underlying physical principles are hotly debated. If we could design catalysts like them, they could transform areas such as 'green' energy generation and would make it possible to make new molecules in environmentally friendly ways. Engineered enzymes and designed protein catalysts are far less efficient than their natural counterparts, however. Chemists have yet to achieve the dream of making catalysts as powerful as natural enzymes.