The Amino Cabaret: Side Chain NeuraPump Shenanigans - MCAT Biochemistry

The Amino Cabaret: Side Chain NeuraPump Shenanigans - MCAT Biochemistry

Where the smallest things cause the biggest drama.

▶ Where the smallest things cause the biggest...

Welcome, students, to the Protein Play,

Where side chains dance and codons slay.

No textbooks here — just sassy chains,

With funk, with flair, with peptide brains.

Glycine’s shy, no side chain at all,

She slips in spots too tight and small.

Alanine’s simple, smooth and sweet,

Just a methyl wave, short and neat.

Leucine and Valine roll like bros,

Flexing branches in muscle shows.

Isoleucine flips the tail—

Folding like a paper trail.

Proline? He’s twisted, smug and sly,

Breaks your helix, won't say why.

“I’m the loop-de-loop of doom,” he grins,

Then warps your sheet and folds your sins.

Acid, base, who gets the vote?

Depends on how those protons float.

Glutamate’s sour, Aspartate bites,

Both pack punches in titration fights.

Lysine's loud with basic charm,

Arginine tattoos his guanidine arm.

Histidine? Neutral ‘til provoked—

One pH swing and BOOM — he’s soaked.

Serine wears her OH high,

With Threonine in matching tie.

They form H-bonds, slide and spin,

Invite the water molecules in.

Glutamine’s chill, Asparagine’s wise,

Quiet amide hearts with misty eyes.

They're diplomats — soft-spoken guests—

Folding sheets and passing tests.

Cysteine, though, she plots and schemes,

“Disulfide bridge, or broken dreams?”

“I bond for life,” she hisses low—

Then locks you down like Velcro.

Phenylalanine’s got benzene pride,

Wears her ring on the hydrophobic side.

Tyrosine swings with -OH chic,

Half drama queen, half science geek.

Tryptophan’s broody, deep and wide,

His indole gaze could start a tide.

He makes you sleepy, dreamy, numb—

Or builds your brain, depending the drum.

They’re tiny, loud, and drama-fed,

They build your skin and toe and head.

They loop and leap, they bond, they bend—

Then play dead ‘til you digest them again. 😵

From steak to speech, from mood to muscle,

Amino acids run the hustle.

They're not just facts in MCAT books—

They're villains, stars, and master cooks. 🍳

Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh-oh

"If Glycine’s gone, would you still smile?

If Tyrosine left, would jokes take a while?"

These aren't pieces — they are poetry,

The alphabet of bio-symphony.

A-M-I-N-O, take the stage!

Fold the chaos, set the page.

From side chain love to backbone crime,

They rhyme your blood and beat your time.

So next time someone says “just meat,”

You flex and say, “That’s elite concrete!”

And whisper soft to your scrambled egg:

“Thank you, Tryptophan… for my leg.” 🍳🦵

We end this show with chains intact,

But in your cells, they still enact.

Every breath, each step, each line—

Is stitched by acids, by design. 🎭