Scientific Glossary

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Amino acids share a common structure: a central carbon (alpha-carbon) bonded to an amino group (-NH2), a carboxyl group (-COOH), a hydrogen, and a variable side chain (R group). The R group determines each amino acid's properties — charged, polar, nonpolar, aromatic. Peptide bonds form between the carboxyl of one amino acid and the amino group of the next, with water released. The sequence and composition of amino acids determines a peptide's three-dimensional shape, receptor affinity, and function.