Short Stuff: Proteins
After some feedback on previous pieces I have written I have decided to interlace some of these “short style” articles that explain things I like waffling about.
These will be informal pieces that aim to explain fundamental concepts in easy to understand ways. So you can feel good about yourself reading the big boy articles. Cool? Lets begin.
I mentioned as a Biochemist I love proteins, but what are they? Just to clarify when I say protein I mean large biological molecules and not whey protein or those aldi protein yogurts.
First here’s a iconic equation. Half words, half emprical ✨chaos✨.
Sugar + Oxygen -> CO2 + 2H20 (I am not balancing the equations)
This is a equation for combustion, also known as burning, also known as that one individual in uni halls that would set the fire alarm off making his toast in the morning. Keep in mind once you start burning, as long as oxygens present it will keep burning.
Additionally I want you to imagine you have a lighter, after one spark the flame should appear. The heat you create with the spark is enough to get the reaction going and keep the flame on. I’m not waffling I promise I’m getting to it, just keep this in your mind for now.
Let’s look at this reaction:
Sugar -> Alcohol + Carbon Dioxide (Yeast is needed!)
This is fermentation. The yeast turns the sugar into alcohol. And you can’t turn the sugar into alcohol without the yeast (before any google warriors come for my neck I mean practically) Okay. But how? Proteins. And in this case specifically a whole bunch of enzymes.
The point of proteins is that they ‘facilitate’ reactions. They help reactions happen that would not usually happen. If you removed the spark wheel from your lighter when you pressed the button it would not light. The spark wheel ‘facilitates’ the start of the reaction.
If you leave the sugar on its own away from any proteins (enzymes in this case), it would simply never turn into alcohol on its own. AND if you added energy to it, in the form of a flame, it would more likely combust (equation above) than turn into alcohol. The proteins (enzymes) are like the spark wheel, and without it no alcohol.
Proteins don’t have to turn sugar into alcohol, they can turn the sugar into other things in your body, it all depends on which protein gets its hand on the sugar first. That’s entering metabolism territory. All my fellow scientists who learned glycolysis know it’s a long day. (If you’re seriously bored google “glycolysis pathway”)
Proteins
Proteins are made of amino acids, in chains called polypeptides. They can be various sizes and have various roles. Cells in your body build these proteins to ‘facilitate’ certain reactions that occur in your body. Your DNA contains the code for all of these proteins. Proteins read your DNA to make more proteins. (Which is also a reaction) It’s crazy.
Let’s keep it simple and say each protein has a single purpose it carries out in your body. It helps ‘faciliate’ a single reaction. There are proteins involved in how you hear, proteins involved in how you digest food, proteins involved in how your muscles work. Proteins that help your cells communicate with each other. Proteins which defend you from invaders when you get ill. There are proteins to build proteins. The list goes on.
Antibodies, enzymes, messengers, structural components and transport and storage. Believe me when I say you could write a few bibles on each of those terms.
“Trillions upon trillions” of these facilitated reactions occur in your body every single day, that allow you to function. That allow your muscles to move. That allow you to see. That allow you to think. The culmination of all these proteins is what makes you, YOU. How you look, how you speak, how you feel, and whilst it would be impossible for me to learn what every single protein does, my aim is to understand how some of them work in areas of the body that interest me.
Want an example of a protein? Click my profile.
Coming soon:
Taste: A Biochemists Palate
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein (Wikipedia is hilarious because it does actually have good explanations)
