minuteearth

The only explanation of proteins you'll ever need (Patreon)

Published:

2021-04-16 17:27:38

Imported:

2026-06

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Dear patrons,

This is Ever writing here and I've come back with a brand new video about the molecular world, specifically, about proteins. I'm really proud of this one and I hope you like it. You can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdNv8VtXjRg

Every time I had to draw proteins for past videos, I was left slightly confused at the diagrams and the illustrations you can find online. There are several reasons for this: 1) I was never a chemistry nerd, so chemistry never received too much love from me, 2) protein illustrations online are mostly coming from scientific papers, which aren't normally intended for non-scientists, and 3) proteins are technically invisible, so models are used to represent them (and there are many models).

So, while I was writing coronavirus_entry (that's the video titled: "I found the BEST coronavirus depiction"), I got in touch with David Wych who's a computational chemist that shares my excitement for proteins and who helped me to write the script fo this video. He also introduced me to different protein software and replied to all of my random and wild questions during production.

Videos like this are possible thanks to your support, so THANK YOU for supporting us <3.

Take care,

Ever

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Proteins: Explained

To start using Tab for a Cause, go to: http://tabforacause.org/minuteearth2 You might already know that proteins are a fundamental part of your diet, but they're much more than that. LEARN MORE ************** To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: - Amino acids: are organic compounds that contain amino (–NH2) and carboxyl (–COOH) functional groups, along with a side chain specific to each amino acid. - Proteins: are macromolecules composed of one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Most proteins fold into unique 3D structures. The shape into which a protein naturally folds is known as its native conformation. - Alpha helix (α-helix): is a common motif in the secondary structure of proteins and is a right hand-helix conformation in which every backbone N−H group hydrogen bonds to the backbone C=O group of the amino acid located four residues earlier along the protein sequence. - Beta sheet (β-sheet): is a common motif of the regular protein secondary structure and consists of beta strands (β-strands) connected laterally by at least two or three backbone hydrogen bonds, forming a generally twisted, pleated sheet. - Ribbon diagrams: are 3D schematic representations of protein structure that shows the overall path and organization of the protein backbone in 3D. Ribbon diagrams are generated by interpolating a smooth curve through the polypeptide backbone. α-helices are shown as coiled ribbons or thick tubes, β-strands as arrows, and non-repetitive coils or loops as lines or thin tubes. CREDITS ********* Ever Salazar | Co-Writer, Narrator, Illustrator and Director David Wych | Co-writer and Consultant Aldo de Vos, Know Art | Music MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info OUR STAFF ************ Sarah Berman • Arcadi Garcia Rius • David Goldenberg Julián Gustavo Gómez • Melissa Hayes • Alex Reich Henry Reich • Peter Reich • Leonardo Souza Ever Salazar • Kate Yoshida OUR LINKS ************ Youtube | https://youtube.com/MinuteEarth TikTok | https://tiktok.com/@minuteearth Twitter | https://twitter.com/MinuteEarth Instagram | https://instagram.com/minute_earth Facebook | https://facebook.com/Minuteearth Website | https://minuteearth.com Apple Podcasts| https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/minuteearth/id649211176 OTHER CREDITS & REFERENCES ********************************** Goodsell, David (2006). Visual Methods from Atoms to Cells. Structure 13, Issue 3:347-354. doi:10.1016/j.str.2005.01.012 Protein 3D images created using Mol* (https://molstar.org/) and structure data from RCSB PDB (https://www.rcsb.org/) Mol* (D. Sehnal, A.S. Rose, J. Kovca, S.K. Burley, S. Velankar (2018) Mol*: Towards a common library and tools for web molecular graphics MolVA/EuroVis Proceedings. doi:10.2312/molva.20181103) Villin folding trajectory by Stefan Doerr - https://figshare.com/authors/Stefan_Doerr/748688 Clathrin Structure (PDB ID: 3IYV) Fotin, A., et al (2004). Molecular model for a complete clathrin lattice from electron cryomicroscopy. Nature 432: 573-579. doi:10.1038/nature03079 Immunoglobulin Structure (PDB IDs: 1IGT & 1IGY) Harris, L.J., et al (1998). Crystallographic structure of an intact IgG1 monoclonal antibody. J Mol Biol 275: 861-872. doi:10.1006/jmbi.1997.1508 ATP Synthase Structure (PDB IDs: 5ARE, 5ARI & 5FIL) Zhou, A., et al (2015). Structure and conformational states of the bovine mitochondrial ATP synthase by cryo-EM. ELife, 4. doi:10.7554/eLife.10180 RCSB PDB Molecule of the Month by David S. Goodsell (The Scripps Research Institute and the RCSB PDB) - https://pdb101.rcsb.org/motm/72 Photosystem II (PDB ID: 5XNL) Su, X., et al (2017). Structure and assembly mechanism of plant C2S2M2-type PSII-LHCII supercomplex. Science 357: 815-820. doi:10.1126/science.aan0327 Ribonuclease (PDB ID: 2AAS) Santoro, J., et al (1993). High-resolution three-dimensional structure of ribonuclease A in solution by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. J Mol Biol 229: 722-734. doi:10.1006/jmbi.1993.1075 Myosin (PDB ID: 1B7T) Houdusse, A., et al (1999). Atomic structure of scallop myosin subfragment S1 complexed with MgADP: a novel conformation of the myosin head. Cell 97: 459-470. doi:10.1016/s0092-8674(00)80756-4