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Proteins - Their Important Role in… Everything

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The Important Role of Proteins in… Everything

When a cell makes a protein…the gene is active or being expressed.

Proteins are the building blocks to all living things.
Proteins make up enzymes, which help to run every biochemical process in the body.
Proteins are part of every cell and tissue in the body.
Proteins coordinate what cells do.

One gene can make more than one kind of protein when Exons (see DNA Transcription) splice together in different combinations. This is why there are many more proteins than genes.
As of now we know there to be 30,000-40,000 human genes, but more than 120,000 possible proteins in humans. The shape and folding pattern of each protein is also thought to give the protein its function.

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Content Collaboration

Collaborative consultation on website genetics and genomics from Dr. Stephen M. Carleton, Assistant Professor, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, SUNY Health Science Center at Brooklyn.