Carbon fixation Memes

Whoever named this biochemical phenomenon deserves a Nobel Prize in comedy! RuBisCO (Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase) is literally the most abundant enzyme on Earth, responsible for carbon fixation in photosynthesis. But instead of focusing on its day job, it sometimes gets distracted and binds with oxygen instead of CO₂—a molecular "side piece" situation. Scientists could have called this "substrate competition" or "alternative binding," but no... they went with "enzyme promiscuity." The biochemistry department clearly has the best sense of humor in academia.

Plant biology drama at its finest! RuBisCO (the enzyme that fixes carbon in photosynthesis) is literally programmed to grab CO₂, but keeps getting distracted by O₂ instead! This molecular "wandering eye" syndrome is why plants waste energy on photorespiration. It's like your friend who swears they're committed to their diet but keeps "accidentally" walking into donut shops. Plants have been trying to fix this evolutionary glitch for millions of years, and scientists are still facepalming about it!