Week 4 HW: Protein Design Part

Part A. ##### CONCEPTUAL QUESTIONS

1. How many molecules of amino acids do you take with a piece of 500 grams of meat? (on average an amino acid is ~100 Daltons)

Why do humans eat beef but do not become a cow, eat fish but do not become fish? Why are there only 20 natural amino acids? Can you make other non-natural amino acids? Design some new amino acids. Where did amino acids come from before enzymes that make them, and before life started? If you make an α-helix using D-amino acids, what handedness (right or left) would you expect? Can you discover additional helices in proteins? Why are most molecular helices right-handed? Why do β-sheets tend to aggregate? What is the driving force for β-sheet aggregation? Why do many amyloid diseases form β-sheets? Can you use amyloid β-sheets as materials? Design a β-sheet motif that forms a well-ordered structure.