|
|
|
|
|
Basic Information |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Biological Environment > Protein Structure |
|
This site tells the story of the history of the universe. Click Earlier and Later to follow the story. Note: Many facts have been simplified to make them easier to understand. |
|
Protein is made of a chain of amino acids. Water makes the chain curl up to give the protein its correct shape.
It curls up because some amino acids stick to water with hydrogen bonds, and are pulled to the outside of the protein. This is another reason water is essential for life. Other amino acids are slippery, like oil, and slide into the inside of the protein. So a proteins shape is decided by which amino acids it contains and in what order they are joined together. Some chains of amino acids form spirals. In life today we find other molecules made from amino acids: hair, muscle, feathers. We call them all protein. |
|
| Like this web site? Buy the book! |
|
Biological Environment > Protein Structure |
|
|
Basic Information |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
