Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
You may have heard that if you want to build muscle mass, it's helpful to eat more protein.
But how does the protein in the food that you eat actually turn into more muscles? I'm
Janice Creneti and this is what is protein synthesis? Protein synthesis is one of the
many complicated processes in your body that take things like food and turn it into muscles,
hair and skin. It all starts with DNA which is located inside of the nucleus of the cell.
DNA exists in a double helix. It looks something like this. You've got two strands. Well these
two strands form a pretty big molecule and they can't really get outside of the nucleus
of the cell into the cytoplasm where all the building of the body actually happens. So
instead, this molecule splits apart and something called messenger RNA is formed as a complimentary
strand. And it looks something like this. Well the messenger RNA molecule is actually
small enough to get out of the nucleus, out into the cytoplasm of the cell. It separates
from the DNA, moves out into the cytoplasm and that's where the work of protein synthesis
really begins. Something called transfer RNA which you can think of it as being kind of
like a shopping cart carries something called amino acids which are the building blocks
of protein. So the the TRNA will read these three sets of bases what we call a codon and
attach a particular amino acid. It will continue going down the line putting amino acids on
there. All those amino acids will hookup and they'll form your protein. And that makes
the molecules that turns into your muscles, your hair and your skin. So there's a lot
going on to turn that protein that you eat into muscles in your body and its all about
protein synthesis. I'm Janice Creneti, thanks.