Amino acids are characterized by their central carbon atom, known as the α-carbon, which is bonded to an amino group (-NH2), a carboxyl group (-COOH), a hydrogen atom, and a variable side chain ...

Each protein is a molecule made up of different combinations of 20 types of smaller, simpler amino acids. Protein molecules are long chains of ... has a specific side chain, known as an R group ...

Within a protein, multiple amino acids are linked together by peptide bonds, thereby forming a long chain. Peptide bonds are formed by a biochemical reaction that extracts a water molecule as it ...

Protein synthesis isn't a slow process, either. A protein chain 400 amino acids long can be assembled in 20 seconds! The keratin made by the hair follicle cells makes long fibers. The cells ...

The sequence of amino acids in the chain determines how the chain will fold up to make the protein, so different proteins have different three-dimensional shapes. The three-dimensional shape of a ...