Proteins are polymers of amino acids that provide structure and control reactions in all cells. When humans think of expressing the meaning of life, they often resort to words. From poems to sonnets to short stories to novels, words tell the stories of life. But in biological terms, the words of life are proteins. While DNA holds the code of life, proteins are the language in which that code is expressed.

Computer generated representation of the enzyme neuraminidase (ribbons and strings) with an inhibitor (ball and stick) in the active site, a cleft on the enzyme's surface. This tertiary structure is built up from the primary structure (amino acid structure) and secondary structure. The arrows represent the beta-pleated sheet, a type of secondary structure.

To observe the mosaic of proteins in life is to observe nature in its finest array. The feathers of a bird and the silk...