Protein (IMAGE)
Caption
The dots in this picture aren't stars, they're millions of proteins as seen through a microscope. Each protein stands up like a blade of grass with only the tips visible as we look down from above. Proteins are chains of amino acids, so each dot is just the amino acid on the tip. Of the 20 flavors of amino acids that make up proteins, one type is tagged yellow, another is tagged pink, the other 18 aren't tagged, they're black. By removing one amino acid from each protein, taking a new picture and then repeating many times, researchers can record a sequence of amino acids for each protein in a sample of millions simultaneously.
Credit
University of Texas at Austin
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