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amino acids

Cultural  
  1. Basic organic molecules (see also organic molecule) that combine to form proteins. Amino acids are made up of hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen. Some examples of amino acids are lysine, phenylalanine, and tryptophan.


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Amino acids are the basic molecular building blocks of proteins.

Example Sentences

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Peptides are short chains made when individual amino acids link together.

From Science Daily

Many dairy farms rely on expensive supplements, including added fats and amino acids, to fine-tune cow nutrition.

From Science Daily

Bamboo also provides essential amino acids, along with minerals such as selenium and potassium.

From Science Daily

With his longtime producing partner Gary Krieg, they gravitated toward researchers solving the problem of “protein folding,” figuring out how to predict the 3-D shape of proteins from a chain of amino acids.

From The Wall Street Journal

In this case, researchers concentrated on three major groups: terpenoids, flavonoids, and amino acids.

From Science Daily