Week 4 HW: Protein Design Part 1

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)

2.Why do humans eat beef but do not become a cow, eat fish but do not become fish?

3.Why are there only 20 natural amino acids?

4.Can you make other non-natural amino acids? Design some new amino acids.

5.Where did amino acids come from before enzymes that make them, and before life started?

6.If you make an α-helix using D-amino acids, what handedness (right or left) would you expect?

7.Can you discover additional helices in proteins?

8.Why are most molecular helices right-handed?

9.Why do β-sheets tend to aggregate?

-What is the driving force for β-sheet aggregation?

10.Why do many amyloid diseases form β-sheets?

-Can you use amyloid β-sheets as materials?

11.Design a β-sheet motif that forms a well-ordered structure.