Coursework.Info - Inspiration in an Instant

On the left is an image preview of every page of this document, and below are the first 150 words with formatting removed:

The role of proteins in biology Proteins are an extremely important group of molecules in living organisms. They have a number of important functions. For example: * Important for growth and repair * They are an essential part of cell membranes * Help to transport things around the body * Antibodies which fight invading micro organisms are proteins * All enzymes are proteins Many proteins don't coil but form long chains. These are called fibrous proteins. Collagen is a fibrous protein and an important structural protein. It consists of three polypeptide chains, each in the shape of a helix. The three wind around each other like a rope (see diagram a- a computer graphic of collagen). As almost every third amino acid in each polypeptide is glycine, its small shape allows the strands to lie in a close coil. These strands are held together by hydrogen bonds. The complete three-stranded molecule interacts with collagen molecules running...

Get instant access

• Instant, unlimited access to our documents in full
• Swap your work for free access, or pay £4.99
• To see the full version of this document and 147,195 others

OR

Receive email updates for this category

• Simply tell us your email address and receive a weekly Study Help Email for FREE
• Receive 3 FREE essay views with each email
• Get all the latest essays from Coursework.Info & discussion from TheStudentRoom.co.uk