Crossword clues for keratin
keratin
The Collaborative International Dictionary
keratin \ker"a*tin\, n. [Gr. ke`ras, -atos, horn.] (Physiol. Chem.) A sulfur-containing fibrous protein constituting the main structural protein of hard epidermal tissues, such as horn, hair, feathers, nails, claws, hoofs, and the like. It is an insoluble substance, and, unlike elastin, is not dissolved even by gastric or pancreatic juice. By decomposition with sulphuric acid it yields leucine and tyrosine plus various other acid-stable amino acids. The amino acid composition varies, but it usually has a high percentage of cystine, which stabilizes and insolubilizes the protein by forming intrachain linkages. A softer form of keratin is present in the epidermis and whalebone. Called also epidermose.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
basic substance of horns, nails, feathers, etc., 1847, from Greek keras (genitive keratos) "horn" (see kerato-) + chemical suffix -in (2).
Wiktionary
n. (context protein English) A protein which hair and nails are comprised of.
WordNet
n. a fibrous scleroprotein that occurs in the outer layer of the skin and in horny tissues such as hair feathers nails and hooves [syn: ceratin]
Wikipedia
Keratin is one of a family of fibrous structural proteins. Keratin is the protein that protects epithelial cells from damage or stress. It is the key structural material making up the outer layer of human skin. I. Keratin monomers assemble into bundles to form intermediate filaments, which are tough and form strong unmineralized epidermal appendages found in reptiles, birds, amphibians, and mammals. The only other biological matter known to approximate the toughness of keratinized tissue is chitin.
Usage examples of "keratin".
Its head, enveloped in unfettered strands of gold-colored keratin, hung toward the floor from the flexible neck while each of its soft, pulpy arms dangled on either side of a scaly, uniformed shoulder.
This shrunken symbol of themselves, this illustrious and moth-eaten great-grandstallun, though almost entirely transformed into keratin, was still a degree or two from nonbeing.
Not just one or two that might have floated in from a corner of the room left undusted, but as much as ever, brown ringlets and curlicues of keratin lying stark against the white sheets.
Its fiber contents are semifluid and can be forced out as muscle plasma by pressure, leaving a residue of sarcolemma, connective tissue, keratin, mucin, nuclein, and so on.
She consumes all of her carefully stockpiled energies, and for the first time in her life, she weaves a body for herself: A distinct physical shell composed of diamond dust and keratin and discarded rare earths and a dozen subtle glues meant to bind to every surface without being felt.
They are thick, yet pliable hair strands, containing keratin and collagen- type proteins, combined with certain metalloproteins.
A distinct physical shell composed of diamond dust and keratin and discarded rare earths and a dozen subtle glues meant to bind to every surface without being felt.
Collagen, enzymes, many hormones, keratin, and antibodies are just a few of the different types of proteins.
Her forehead was ridged with keratin, her nostrils no more than slits in the middle of her face.
Its sides rose vastly, and from halfway up were gnarls of carapace-matter coaxed over generations into overhangs and towers, the walls of a keratin village.
They were like tiny, tentacle-less proxies, their swollen mantles cased in something like keratin.
The action of chrysarobin on the skin is not due to germicidal properties, but to its chemical affinity for the keratin elements of the skin.
She consumes all of her carefully stockpiled energies, and for the first time in her life, she weaves a body for herself: A distinct physical shell composed of diamond dust and keratin and discarded rare earths and a dozen subtle glues meant to bind to every surface without being felt.
Its fiber contents are semifluid and can be forced out as muscle plasma by pressure, leaving a residue of sarcolemma, connective tissue, keratin, mucin, nuclein, and so on.