by John Traveler

Created on: October 07, 2009

Of all the chemical manifestations in the universe, amino acids are without question the most incredible stuff ever to have chemically evolved. But quite amazingly, amino acids are a totally natural occurrence and just about anywhere you find liquid water, you are almost sure to find amino acids too. More awesomely still, given stable environmental conditions and enough time, where you find amino acids you will likely find another natural occurrence, the essence we call life.

The building blocks of life and agents of its processes are substances called proteins, and proteins are nothing more than polymer chains of amino acids joined by peptide bonds. More than 50,000 different types of proteins have been catalogued, most consisting of the twenty standard amino acids. There are actually many other non-standard amino acids, but these are only rarely found in proteins.

Understanding how amino acids form proteins, also referred to as polypeptide chains, is as simple as understanding the bonds or electrical protocol which join atoms of elements to form molecules. There are basically three different types of bonding which occur between elements and molecules, they are Ionic, Covalent, and hydrogen bonds. The peptide bonds which join amino acids to form proteins are of the covalent variety. If science and chemistry are not your forte, the next two paragraphs provide a brief primer on covalent bonding which may be helpful in understanding protein synthesis. Other readers more well versed in chemical bonding may want to skip ahead.

Elements, of course, are made up of Protons, Neutrons and Electrons. The protons and neutrons are found in the nucleus of the atom and exhibit a slightly positive electrical charge. Compared to the nucleus, electrons are infinitesimally small particles which carry a negative charge. Electrical charges are exactly like the poles of a magnet in that like charges repel and opposing charges attract each other. Protons, being positively charged, attract negatively charged electrons pulling them in towards the nucleus of the atom. If a proton and electron could actually get together their charges would cancel out an a neutrally charged particle appropriately referred to as a neutron is formed. But electrons are also high energy particles and are moving through space at slightly less than the speed of light. This high velocity and subsequent centrifugal force causes the electrons to orbit the nucleus of the atom at a great distance, and prevent it

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