All About Proteins

Did you know that proteins are what make all living things going? In my science class, I learned that they are the building blocks of all cells. Without them, living things like you and me would not work at all. My science teacher told me that proteins are made up of chemicals called amino acids. Also, I learned that a gene contains the code that determines the structure of the protein. A group of three DNA bases in this code tell the instructions for making a particular amino acid. The order of a group of three DNA bases in the genetic code tells the order amino acids are to be put together for a protein to be produced. In the process of protein synthesis, the course of action the cell takes to produce proteins, messenger RNA copies the coded message in the DNA and takes it to organelles in the cytoplasm of the cell called ribosomes. There, transfer RNA carries different amino acids to the ribosomes and matches the code on the messenger RNA. From there, the protein is produced in the correct order. I was surprised to know that all of this happened in just a few seconds! I remember playing a game on the Internet where I had to match the transfer RNA to the messenger RNA and took more than a million times longer than it would for a real cell to match the same pattern. I wonder how our body makes proteins so fast. Anyway, I learned from looking at a website on the Internet that twenty-two types of amino acids are very important for the health of all humans. Only 13 of these can be made by our body, though. The other nine amino acids need to be consumed by us through different types of vegetables and foods. So this is why people always tell me to eat food from all of the food groups everyday. On the website, I also saw that proteins are what make up all of our muscles, organs and our immune system. Furthermore, proteins are used to make hemoglobin to carry oxygen in our red blood cells. I wonder what we would do without proteins helping our body beat our heart, move our arms and legs and drive away dangerous diseases. Lucky for us, proteins are produced every day, hour, minute and second of our lives to help keep our bodies going. Proteins really are the building blocks of all cells!

If you would like to learn more about proteins, you can go to this website: http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/stay_healthy/body/protein.html