Silver and gold molecular forms transitioning into a folded biological structure

peptides.family / an open exploration

PEPTIDES 101

HAVE A GO. YOUR BRAIN WILL FIGURE IT OUT. 😆

You don't need to understand everything straight away. Tap things. Move things. Build things. Change the numbers. Pull things apart and put them back together.

Some of it will make sense immediately. Some of it won't.

But your brain is clever. It'll keep the little bits that matter, and then one random night in bed, halfway through a completely unrelated thought, something will suddenly click.

That's Peptides 101. You don't have to study it. Just explore.

SCIENCE CAN BE COMPLICATED.THIS PAGE DOESN'T HAVE TO BE.

01 / FROM MATTER TO LIFE

START SMALL

Keep your eye on the gold target. Begin with one atom, then pull back to see how that same small piece fits into something larger.

THE STRUCTURE WITHIN THE STRUCTURE01 / 05

01 / 05 IN FOCUS

ATOM

One atom. This is our starting point. Keep your eye on the gold target as we pull back.

The gold target follows the same atom throughout. This is a visual guide, not a depiction of exact relative sizes.

02 / AMINO ACIDS → SEQUENCE → PEPTIDE

MEET THE 20 AMINO ACIDS

ARE THERE ONLY 20?

Not even close. These are the 20 standard amino acids commonly used by the genetic code to build proteins. Many other amino acids exist in biology and chemistry too. Think of these twenty as the standard set we're starting with, not the entire amino-acid family.

THE 20 / SELECT TO ADD

20 STANDARD AMINO ACIDS

Gold edge = in your sequence. Select again to add another. Groupings can overlap.

BUILD A PEPTIDE

AMINO ACIDS → SEQUENCE → PEPTIDE0 RESIDUES

Select an amino acid or try a real example to begin.

TRY A REAL EXAMPLE

Choose a sequence to watch it take shape, then change it yourself.

03 / SIGNALS, RECEPTORS & RESPONSES

YOUR BODY IS CONSTANTLY SENDING MESSAGES.

Many peptides act as signals.

A signal can meet a compatible receptor. The receptor receives the message and helps start a response.

SIGNALRECEPTORRESPONSE

Can you connect the signal to the right receptor?

One connection is already made. Select another signal, then tap its receptor. On desktop, follow the gold line with your pointer.

THE SIGNALTHE RECEPTOR

RESPONSE

I'M FULL

HALF-LIFE

LET'S CUT SOMETHING IN HALF. 😆

Don't worry. This isn't a maths test.

CUT IT IN HALF.

100%

NATURAL → MODIFIED

NATURE STARTED IT. SCIENCE GOT CURIOUS. 👀

Nature already makes some incredible peptides. Scientists can study them, use pieces of them, or carefully change them to create something new.

Pick one and see what happened.

CHOOSE A STORY

STARTING POINT

α-MSH

NATURAL PEPTIDE

EXPLORE THE MAP

PICK A BRANCH. SEE WHERE IT GOES. 👀

Your body is constantly sending, receiving and responding to signals. Start somewhere and follow the biology.

Tap a node to grow the map. Drag to explore. Scroll or pinch to zoom.START WITH ANY BRANCH

AFTER THE MAP

SEE SOME REAL EXAMPLES

Now you've explored the biology, here are a few familiar examples connected to it.

SS-31 / ELAMIPRETIDEMITOCHONDRIAL MEMBRANE

A mitochondria-targeted peptide studied for its interaction with cardiolipin in the inner mitochondrial membrane.

NAD+REDOX BIOLOGY

Not a peptide. This coenzyme participates in cellular redox reactions and energy metabolism.

TIRZEPATIDEMETABOLIC SIGNALLING

A GIP and GLP-1 receptor agonist whose studied actions include glucose-dependent insulin signalling and appetite regulation.

GHK-CuCOPPER-DEPENDENT BIOLOGY

A copper-binding peptide complex investigated in skin and extracellular-matrix research; this does not establish a clinical repair outcome.

OXYTOCINREPRODUCTIVE SIGNALLING

An endogenous peptide hormone involved in uterine contraction and milk ejection.

STARTED WITH ONE ATOM.
ENDED UP HERE. 😆

You don't need to remember all of it. If one more thing makes sense than it did when you arrived, Peptides 101 did its job.

KEEP EXPLORING ♥

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