Proteins are the workhorses and the most important building materials of the body. Every cell contains thousands of different proteins, which work together as tiny machines to run the cell. They make all living things function, from viruses to honey bees, from lions to humans, and everything in between. Almost every molecule in the body is either a protein or the result of a protein’s activity.

For instance, proteins are responsible for the formation of muscles, hair, color of the eyes, size of the body, shape of the nose, etc. Most of the time, one single protein is not sufficient to shape a trait. Rather, several proteins act together.

If, for example, we send a text message with a cell phone, scratch our head or learn a text, it is always an entire team of proteins that works in us and for us. Some proteins develop small miniature tools in a body cell which are called “enzymes”.

Proteins are very tiny. Even with the most powerful microscope, you would have trouble seeing them. Scientists use special techniques and computer programs to model protein structure.

Overall, there are more than a million different proteins in the human body. At any time in each organism, the production of thousands of proteins is going on at full speed. This process is extremely precise and rapid. The assembly of a protein usually requires less than a minute.

Proteins are made of smaller molecules, known as the amino acids, strung together in chains that are up to several hundred amino acid units long. The enormous variety of protein forms arises from the fact that the proteins’ building blocks are linked together in different combinations.