1 At first glance, it seems conceivable that other amino acids could have been chosen to fulfill the role of some, if not all, of the canonical amino acids.īut researchers from the University of Hawaii recently offered an insightful perspective on this scientific riddle that suggests otherwise. Over the course of the last 30 years or so, biochemists have sought answers to these questions. Shouldn’t at least some of these alternative compounds have made their way into proteins? Many naturally occurring amino acids possess these structural features.
Twenty chemically distinct amino acids comprise the proteins found in every organism on Earth. One that has long fueled our curiosity relates to the choice of amino acids used to build proteins.Īmino acids are the building blocks that make up proteins. Why is the sky blue? Why is grass green? Biochemists like asking why questions, too. This discovery provides new evidence that life’s chemistry stems from the work of a Creator. Recent work from the University of Hawaii adds new insight, indicating that the set of amino acids used to make proteins is the optimal set. Over the last few decades, researchers have made some progress in addressing this question.