Chemists hijack bacterial enzymes to create complex molecules normally made by plants

Amazing stuff! Could be very promising! Artificial synthesis as complex as made by nature after millions of years of evolution!

"These molecules, called terpenes, are potential starting points for new drugs and other high-value products—marking an important development for multiple industries. In addition, the new approach could allow chemists to build many other classes of compounds. ... The key to this new method of making molecules is the harnessing, or hijacking, of natural enzymes—from bacteria, in this case—to assist in complex chemical transformations that have been impractical or impossible with synthetic chemistry techniques alone"

Chemists hijack bacterial enzymes to create complex molecules normally made by plants | Scripps Research In their synthesis of molecules known as “oxidized diterpenes,” scientists demonstrate a strategy for harnessing enzymes more broadly to build new medicines. Chemists at Scripps Research have efficiently created three families of complex, oxygen-containing molecules that are normally obtainable only from plants.