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12. Life
| 12.12 |
Level 1 Life- Complex Polymers- Protein
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| While Amino Acids are specialized"reactors" to certain molecular structures, proteins are the specialized shape "reactors" to even larger structures of molecules. The word protein comes from the Greek word protos meaning "first, or earliest." | ||||||
| Proteins are long unique shaped chains of Amino Acids (80 to 1,000 Amino Acid's long). proteins form approximately 17% of the total mass of the human body, compared to an average of less than 15% for fats and 2% for sugars. | ||||||
| Bones and teeth are made of protein (hardened by Calcium). Skin, hair and nails are mostly protein. | ||||||
| Classes of Protein | ||||||
| There are several classes of proteins identified by one main "reacting" structural feature: | ||||||
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| Structural Proteins | ||||||
| Structural proteins in animals are found as tough, insoluble, triple-helix stranded form known as "collagen". This is present in tendons and ligaments, but also in the main bone protein and occurs widely elsewhere in the form of connective tissue ( tissue that participates in the structure of organs, or body tissue, or binds them together). | ||||||
| Liquid reactors ( Soluble Proteins) | ||||||
| Soluble protein is present in the cells and in the blood of animals, the two main forms being albumin and globulin. | ||||||
| Albumin binds and transports fatty acids, while globulin forms specialized anti-bodies ( various proteins produced in the skeleton of vertebrate animals and transported via a parallel tube system to the blood system called the "lymphatic system") in response to the presence of an external or internal molecular threat (known as antigens). | ||||||
| Contractor/Expander Proteins | ||||||
| Contractor/Expander proteins are those that can shorten and lengthen (normally known as "contractile" protein), such as those present in the muscles as myosin and in the cells as actin and tubulin. | ||||||
| Solid reactors (Enzymes) | ||||||
| Proteins that react to specific solid molecular structures by quickly breaking them down into essential components are known traditionally as "enzymes' (from the Greek word enzyme meaning "ferments"). | ||||||
| We class them as solid reactors to simplify the common understanding of purpose of all enzymes. Enzymes are catalysts that can (for example) break down 100,000 molecules in seconds. | ||||||
| Solid reactor proteins ( enzymes) are structures designed to be specifically reactive and breakdown in contact with certain heavier elements ( e.g. iron, zinc, copper). Usually a secondary "link" molecule is involved in the breakdown of heavier elements or minerals. These secondary "link" molecules are usually called co-factors and are the principle function of most Vitamin molecules. | ||||||
| The importance of shape to proteins | ||||||
| As discussed, the essential nature and function of all proteins is determined by their shape. Shape in turn determines a proteins effectiveness as either: o structural o liquid reactor o solid reactor o contractor/expander. | ||||||
| If the shape of a particular protein is different of faulty, the effectiveness of the Protein is lost. Proteins are particularly vulnerable to extreme temperatures as well as construction errors due to faulty blueprints (RNA- to be discussed in a moment). Much of human advancement in the fighting of disease has been through the synthetic creation of proteins. In recent years, 3D modeling in recognition of the importance of shape to function of proteins has improved the effectiveness of much health research. | ||||||
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