Importance of Proteins
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The importance of proteins in biology cannot be stated enough. Proteins serve as transport molecules within cells, moving key elements into and out of these cells, and in essence allowing for our bodies to function properly in order to ensure the survival of a given organism. Other proteins may serve as key pumps of the lipid bilayer of cells, further regulating the transport of certain molecules into and out of these cells. Furthermore, proteins join together to form molecules known as enzymes which function as catalysts, regulating and allowing certain key reactions to take place which are absolutely necessary for the survival of the given organism. This paper will focus on how protein structure accounts for the function of these incredible molecules. One key property of proteins is their unique folding conformations which will be discussed in this paper, and the importance of this folding will be directly related to protein function. Because protein function varies from protein to protein, it would be nearly impossible to analyze the structure and function of each one. Therefore, this paper will focus on certain specific proteins and will analyze how their structure is directly responsible for their physiological function.
Proteins are made up of amino acids, and the placement and orientation of these amino acids is directly responsible for the structure of the protein. Twenty amino acids are used as building blocks, and given their conformation and sequence, can make up literally thousands of unique proteins...