BIOL 2040 Lecture Notes - Lecture 20: Globular Protein, Alpha Helix, Dehydration Reaction
28 Jan 2017
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Document Summary
Proteins are organic compounds that contain the element nitrogen as well as carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Proteins are the most diverse group of biologically important substances and are often considered to be the central compound necessary for life. In fact, the translation from the greek root word (cid:373)ea(cid:374)s (cid:862)first pla(cid:272)e. (cid:863) Skin and muscles are composed of proteins; antibodies and enzymes are proteins; some hormones are proteins; and some proteins are involved with digestion, respiration, reproduction, and even normal vision, just to mention a few. There are obviously many types of proteins, but they are all made from amino acids bonded together by the dehydration synthesis. By continually adding amino acids, called peptides, two amino acids join together to form dipeptides; as more peptides join together, they form polypeptides. Proteins vary in length and complexity based on the number and type of amino acids that compose the chain.
