Nathan Ahlgren, an assistant professor of biology at Clark University, explains exactly what proteins are, how they are made, and the wide variety of functions they perform in the human body.
Key Takeaways:
- Proteins are made up of smaller components, called amino acids.
- We can make about half of the amino acids we need on our own, but we have to get the others from our food.
- There are around 20,000 different proteins in our body. Some studies suggest that there might be even more.
“A protein doesn’t usually exist as a string, but actually folds up into a particular shape, depending on the order and how those different amino acids interact together.”
Read more: https://theconversation.com/what-is-a-protein-a-biologist-explains-152870
