Amino Acid
The building blocks of proteins. Twenty standard amino acids combine in various sequences to form all proteins in living organisms.
Used in the Books
This term appears in 14 chapters:
"...n years of evolution, successful cells have membranes that do four essential things: 1. Selective Import Cells need nutrients. Oxygen, glucose, amino acids, vitamins - these must enter somehow. But the cell can't just open the gates and let everything in. It needs specific transport mechanisms for each n..."
"There's no choice left. The body begins dismantling muscle fiber by fiber, dissolving organ tissue cell by cell to extract amino acids for essential processes. This is where permanent damage begins - and where you can feel yourself disappearing from the inside out. The body is remar..."
"It's survival. Consider a liver cell. At any moment, it's bathed in thousands of different molecules: glucose, amino acids, hormones, growth factors, toxins, waste products. If it tried to respond to everything, it would thrash between contradictory states."
"... citation needed]* Why such precision? Because DNA encodes proteins, and proteins perform cellular functions. A single base pair error can change an amino acid in a protein sequence, potentially destroying its function. Organisms that copied their genetic information sloppily produced offspring that didn't w..."
"...s sap toward roots/fruit (sink) where sugars are unloaded. - Contents: Sugars (10-30% concentration - sucrose primarily, also glucose, fructose), amino acids, hormones (auxin, cytokinin), signaling molecules, RNA - Structure: Living cells (sieve tube elements with perforated end walls, companion cells ..."
And 9 more chapters...
Biological Context
Amino acid sequence determines protein structure and function. Nine amino acids are 'essential'—humans must obtain them from food. DNA encodes amino acid sequences through the genetic code. A typical protein contains hundreds to thousands of amino acids.
Business Application
Organizational amino acids: the basic capabilities, skills, and resources that combine to form larger organizational structures. Like amino acids, they're interchangeable in some ways but each has unique properties that determine what structures are possible.