Each of the 20 amino acids has a specific side chain, known as an R group, that is also attached to the α carbon. The R groups have a variety of shapes, sizes, charges, and reactivities.

The carbon atom forms a bond with a hydrogen atom, an amino group, a carboxylic acid group, and an R group. An R group is a unique side chain that differentiates between each amino acid.

Amino acids are characterized by their central carbon atom, known as the α-carbon, which is bonded to an amino group (-NH2), a carboxyl group (-COOH), a hydrogen atom, and a variable side chain ...

Amino acids are the building blocks that form polypeptides and ultimately proteins. Consequently, they are fundamental components of our bodies and vital for physiological functions such as protein ...

Lysine is one of the essential amino acids that the body cannot make and that people need to obtain from dietary sources. Lysine, also called L-lysine, is an amino acid necessary for many bodily ...

He analyzed them and the results were electrifying: Organic compounds had been formed, most notably some of the "building blocks of life," amino acids. Amino acids are necessary to form proteins ...

Proteins are the end products of the decoding process that starts with the information in cellular DNA. As workhorses of the cell, proteins compose structural and motor elements in the cell, and ...