Few People Realize just how important proteins are to everyday life. Proteins are the building blocks of life. They are made up of Amino acids, small compounds, made up around 10 atoms. A protein is a chain of 50 to several thousand of these linked together. This is the same stuff as what's inside steak, and what the scientists are going after now that they finished the Genome. When you eat a steak, the proteins are reduce to amino acids in your digestive system, and they travel throughout your body. Once there they make almost everything in your body. Since I have too much spare time, I will list some of them.

THE GOOD

feathers
hair
bird beaks
brain cells
muscle
antibodies
The only difference between milk and water.
Enzymes*

THE BAD

fingernails
claws
virus's
liver
mosquito wings
potato peels
That stuff that clogs contact lenses towards the end of the day.
Prions**
bacteria things***
That stuff that clogs contact lenses towards the end of the day.

THE UGLY

zits
armpit hair
blood clots
scabs

*Enzymes = specialized proteins present in some dishwashing liquids, digestive system of every living organism, and many other places. They match up to a specific type of other protein, and slotting into each other perfectly, they either break it apart or combine it with another to form a new, larger protein. they can carry on doing this forever without degrading, like a sort of biological catalyst.

**Prions = proteins gone bad. When incorrectly assembled and folded they can form evil little things more primitive than virus's. the rouge protein attacks other proteins, and reassembles them into copies of itself. CJE and mad cow disease are examples of prionic diseases.

***bacteria things = bacteria, and indeed, all cells, are coated in proteins. the unique pattern allows white blood cells to attack bacteria and not body cells. the downside is the bacteria also use them to attack the body.

Random Facts:

The reason there are so many different uses is the huge variety of proteins. scientists estimate there are over 10,000 types in humans alone.

Boiling denatures, or breaks up, proteins. this is why raw carrots are healthier than cooked. No word has reached me on whether this could be a quick fix for decontaminating mad cows.

Scientists are working on a new generation of medicines based on proteins. They could efficiently kill AIDS virus's fungi, bacteria, and cancer with minimal side effects.