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Amino acid
hideIn chemistry, an amino acid is a molecule containing both amine and carboxyl functional groups. These molecules are particularly important in biochemistry, where this term refers to alpha-amino acids with the general formula H2NCHRCOOH, where R is an organic substituent. In the alpha amino acids, the amino and carboxylate groups are attached to the same carbon atom, which is called the α–carbon. The various alpha amino acids differ in which side chain (R group) is attached to their alpha carbon. They can vary in size from just a hydrogen atom in glycine through a methyl group in alanine to a large heterocyclic group in tryptophan.
Amino acids are critical to life, and have a variety of roles in metabolism. One particularly important function is as the building blocks of proteins, which are linear chains of amino acids. Amino acids are also important in many other biological molecules, such as forming parts of coenzymes, as in S-adenosylmethionine, or as precursors for the biosynthesis of molecules such as heme. Due to this central role in biochemistry, amino acids are very important in nutrition.
Amino acids are commonly used in food technology and industry. For example, monosodium glutamate is a common flavor enhancer that gives foods the taste called umami. Beyond the amino acids that are found in all forms of life, amino acids are also used in industry. Applications include the production of biodegradable plastics, drugs and chiral catalysts.
For more information about Amino acid, read the full article at
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News tagged with amino acids
Exotic life beyond Earth? Looking for life as we don't know it
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Sep 18, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (24) |
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Scientists at a new interdisciplinary research institute in Austria are working to uncover how life might evolve with "exotic" biochemistry and solvents, such as sulphuric acid instead of water. Their research ...
Volcanoes May Have Provided Sparks and Chemistry for First Life
Oct 16, 2008 |
4.4 / 5 (25) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Lightning and gases from volcanic eruptions could have given rise to the first life on Earth, according to a new analysis of samples from a classic origin-of-life experiment performed more ...
Model suggests how life's code emerged from primordial soup
Aug 07, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (20) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- In 1953, Stanley Miller filled two flasks with chemicals assumed to be present on the primitive Earth, connected the flasks with rubber tubes and introduced some electrical sparks as a stand-in for lightning. ...
Balancing protein intake, not cutting calories, may be key to long life
Dec 02, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (18) |
5
Getting the correct balance of proteins in our diet may be more important for healthy ageing than reducing calories, new research funded by the Wellcome Trust and Research into Ageing suggests.
First discovery of life's building block in comet made
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Aug 17, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (18) |
13
(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA scientists have discovered glycine, a fundamental building block of life, in samples of comet Wild 2 returned by NASA's Stardust spacecraft.
Researcher discover two highly complex organic molecules detected in space
Apr 21, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (16) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (MPIfR) in Bonn, Germany, Cornell University, USA, and the University of Cologne, Germany, have detected two of the most complex ...
Scientists Find Clues to a Secret of Life
Mar 17, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (13) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA scientists analyzing the dust of meteorites have discovered new clues to a long-standing mystery about how life works on its most basic, molecular level.
A new lead for autoimmune disease
Jun 04, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (13) |
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A drug derived from the hydrangea root, used for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine, shows promise in treating autoimmune disorders, report researchers from the Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine and the Immune ...
Keeping cells youthful: How telomere-building proteins get drawn into the fold
Biology /
Aug 25, 2008 |
4.6 / 5 (13) |
0
It may take just one or two proteins to polish off a simple cellular task, but life-or-death matters, such as caring for the ends of chromosomes known as telomeres, require interacting crews of proteins, all with a common ...
Secrets of a Life-Giving Amino Acid Revealed
Jul 16, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (10) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Selenium is a trace element crucial to life -- too little or too much of it is fatal. In the July 17 issue of the journal Science, researchers at Yale University and University of Illinois at Chi ...
Study reveals surprising details of the evolution of protein translation
Biology /
Aug 12, 2008 |
4.6 / 5 (10) |
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A new study of transfer RNA, a molecule that delivers amino acids to the protein-building machinery of the cell, challenges long-held ideas about the evolutionary history of protein synthesis.
Research team creates simple chemical system that mimics DNA
Jun 12, 2009 |
4.1 / 5 (11) |
5
A team of Scripps Research scientists has created a new analog to DNA that assembles and disassembles itself without the need for enzymes. Because the new system comprises components that might reasonably be expected in a ...
Diet high in methionine could increase risk of Alzheimers
Dec 16, 2009 |
3.1 / 5 (14) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Temple study suggests that an amino acid found in red meats, fish, beans and other foods may increase possibility of dementia.
Deep-Sea Microbes May Answer Long-Standing Question About Earth's Nitrogen Cycle
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Oct 15, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (9) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have identified an unexpected metabolic ability in a symbiotic community of deep-sea microorganisms. It may help solve a lingering mystery about the world's nitrogen cycle.
New piece found in the puzzle of epigenetics
Jun 16, 2009 |
5 / 5 (8) |
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For many years scientists have known that the numerous biological functions of an organism are not regulated solely by the DNA sequence of its genes: Superordinate regulatory mechanisms exist that contribute to determining ...
