Helicase

The DNA molecule as seen in my previous entry HERE (and at DNA label below) is undergoing reproduction. There I showed a molecule which affects the DNA to prepare it for the process of replication. Now we come to another molecule, called a "helicase," further described HERE. These take apart the pairs of nucleotide units which make up the DNA. Above is the chemical activity of a helicase molecule (not shown) from a Cyanobacterial species. The image and other details of this molecule are in Uniprot Reference Q8DG65. This molecule is made of 773 amino acids, as reported in the same link (HERE). To remind you, there are 20 types of amino acids in proteins, as opposed to hundreds found throughout nature. I am adding pictures of the 20. They are made of atoms like Oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen. The corners of the lines are understood to have the atom Carbon. The Creationwiki Amino Acid link HERE takes you to a better view if you want it.

These are the units which make up the proteins. There were over 900 amino acids in the first molecule we needed to loosen up the DNA so it would be ready to replicate. This molecule with over 700 amino acids is needed to take apart the DNA so it can be copied to make more cells and organisms. The amino acids have to be in enough of a specific order to allow for the protein to form the way it should. Some of the amino acids may be substituted by a limited amount of others, since there are several groups which have similar properties. But experimentally, some amino acid placements have been found to be absolutely necessary or a protein will not work. Just one difference will completely leave the protein without function.