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

At the same time, CNMa also traveled through the bloodstream as a hormone, reaching the brain more gradually and reinforcing the drive to seek essential amino acids.

From Science Daily • May 28, 2026

Proteins are essential because they contain amino acids that animals cannot make themselves.

From Science Daily • May 28, 2026

To investigate, the researchers fed mice diets enriched with one of 20 different amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins.

From Science Daily • May 21, 2026

To create the compounds, the researchers combined several amino acids with tryptamine, a naturally occurring metabolite derived from the essential amino acid tryptophan.

From Science Daily • May 14, 2026

Life is certainly more than the amino acids that make up its proteins and the nucleotides that make up its nucleic acids.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan