|
|
The Chemistry of Proteins
Proteins are the most multifaceted substances acknowledged to science. They are big molecules consisting of the same elements; carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, that create up carbohydrates and fats. Besides, proteins have nitrogen, an element needed by all living vegetation and animals, and occasionally sulfur, phosphorus, and iron as well. Plants can create protein by merging the nitrogen in the soil, or in a few cases air, with CO2 and water, where animals receive their protein from consuming plants or other plant eating animals.
Each protein is created up of amino acids, less important molecules acknowledged as the building blocks of protein. These molecules can be joint in numerous diverse ways, much as the letters of the alphabet are united to make words. We do not in fact require to eat proteins themselves, but rather the amino acids from which the body creates its own proteins.
The multifaceted molecular system of proteins lets thousands of differences, each one made to play a precise role in the cell of a plant or animal. The number of amino acids, the order in which they’re attached, and the shape of the molecule are directly associated to the protein’s purpose. As an example, one insoluble form of protein molecule is division of your hair and nails, while a different, soluble form of molecule brings nutrients through the blood stream. The order of amino acids in a protein may possibly be a matter of life and death; if merely one of the hundreds of amino-acid compounds in hemoglobin, the oxygen carrying protein of the blood, is out of order, the incredibly grave disease named sickle cell anemia occurs.
Quote: amino acids, blood stream, building blocks of protein, carbon hydrogen, cell anemia, grave disease, hemoglobin, letters of the alphabet, phosphorus, polypeptides, precise role, process of digestion, protein molecule, protein molecules, small intestineRelated posts
Biology Help: The Immune System
In this article Biology Help will be looking at one particular element of the human immune system namely, the innate immune system. The etymology of immunity consists of the Latin word “Immunis” which means ‘exempt’ or ‘freedom’. From a biological perspective, immunity refers to all those mechanisms used by the body to protect itself from threats and/or foreign elements. These include microorganisms or their products, certain food items, chemicals, drugs and pollen, etc.
Immunity in human biology is of two types: Innate and Acquired. Innate immunity refers to the protective mechanisms one is born with and which is always present in the human body. The first line of defence consists of various barriers that block and/or destroy pathogens as they try to enter the body. These barriers are of four types: (a) anatomical, (b) physiological, (c) phagocytic and (d) inflammatory barriers. Anatomical barriers consist of the skin and mucus membranes and act to prevent foreign matter from entering the body. The mucous traps these foreign microorganisms and the cilia (minute hair-like protrusions) propel them out of the body.
Physiological barriers refer to factors such as body temperature, pH and various body secretions, which prevent the growth of many harmful micro-organisms. For example, the acidity of the stomach kills most ingested micro-organisms. As we see in Biology Help, Lysozyme, a protein present in secretions such as tears and saliva acts as an anti-bacterial agent by attacking and digesting bacterial cell walls. Similarly, some of the cells in the body release a type of glycol-proteins called Interferon’s when they’re infected by a virus. Biology Help informs us that the interferon’s act to protect the surrounding non-infected cells by inducing an antiviral state in them and as a result the person exhibits increased resistance to viral infections.
Quote: bacterial cell walls, biological perspective, body secretions, cilia, harmful micro organisms, human biology, human immune system, innate immune system, innate immunity, latin word, line of defence, mucus membranes, protective mechanisms, tissue injury, viral infections