Forms and Nomenclature
The term "aspartic acid" refers to either of two forms or a mixture of two. Of these two forms, only one, "-aspartic acid", is directly incorporated into proteins. The biological roles of its counterpart, "-aspartic acid" are more limited. Where enzymatic synthesis will produce one or the other, most chemical syntheses will produce both forms, "-aspartic acid," known as a racemic mixture.
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“A painter told me that nobody could draw a tree without in some sort becoming a tree; or draw a child by studying the outlines of its forms merely,—but by watching for a time his motions and plays, the painter enters into his nature and can then draw him at will in every attitude.”
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