Hemoglobin is a protein, which is one of the four basic biological molecules of life. Proteins have many functions and are versatile molecules. They are important for building and repairing cells and tissues and also as enzymes that are used in catabolic processes within an organism. Hemoglobin is the main substance of the red blood cell and it helps red blood cells carry oxygen from the air in our lungs to all the parts of our body. The other three molecules of life are carbohydrates, lipids, and nucleic acids. Proteins can also be called polypeptide chains because they are made up of subunits, amino acids that are linked with peptide bonds. Since hemoglobin has such an importance to the function in our bodies it has an importance in our society as well. In order to understand how and why hemoglobin is essential one must understand the chemistry behind this molecule.

There are thousands of different polypeptides due to the variety of amino acid arrangements in forming chains. Amino acids are organic compounds that have an amino group, a hydrogen atom, and a carboxyl group attached to an asymmetric carbon (a carbon that has four different g

The capability of hemoglobin to discharge oxygen, is affected by pH, CO2 and by the variations in the abundant amount of oxygen in the lungs and the reduced amount of oxygen in the tissues. Hemoglobin molecules also carry 20% of all carbon dioxide (CO2) in the blood and instead of binding to the heme group like oxygen it binds to the globins. When hemoglobin joins with oxygen it releases protons, which is known as the Bohr Effect.

An extremely important protein for many organisms is hemoglobin because it has such an impact on the function in nature. Hemoglobin is important to our survival; basically humans cannot even live without abnormal hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is very crucial to our blood's capacity for storing and transporting oxygen. As oxygen is relatively insoluble in blood plasma, respiratory pigments such as hemoglobin may raise the oxygen transporting capacity of the blood. In most of the invertebrates, respiratory pigments are simply dissolved in the blood plasma, which, in contrast to vertebrates and echinoderms, use highly developed red blood cells, or erythrocytes, to carry their respiratory pigments. In vertebrates, Oxygen from the lungs is carried by a molecule to the tissues and organs of the body bonded to the heme group. The molecule also carries carbon dioxide bonded to the globins. This is the only molecule that has the right formation to perform this task so proficiently. This is simplified by hemoglobin's cooperative binding.

Use in Society of Hemoglobin (Disease):

Hemoglobin can exist in many forms such as Adult hemoglobin (Hemoglobin A), Fetal hemoglobin [HbF], Embryonic hemoglobin [HbE], Sickle hemoglobin [HbS], and other assortments inside these classifications. The genes that determine hemoglobin synthesis are found on chromosomes 11 and 16. Each chromosome #16 has 2 identical alpha globin genes and since each cell has 2 chromosomes 16s, a total of 4 alpha globin genes exist in each cell. The briefly expressed embryonic genes (zeta genes) that substitute for a very early in development are also found on chromosome 16. The genes that are found on chromosome 11 are beta, gamma, delta, and epsilon (sum known as non-alphas). Each cell has 2 betafnglobin genes, one on each of the 2 chromosomes 11 in the cell. These 2 betafnglobin genes state their globin protein in an amount that exactly equals that of the four alpha globin genes. Arrangements of these genes and the assistance of the chromosomes result in different types of hemoglobin. See Figure 10 to view the alpha and beta globin Gene clusters.

Embryonic hemoglobin is produced in the first two months of life within the womb. Originally, there are 2 zeta globins and 2 epsilon globins, but afterward there are two alpha goblins and two epsilon globins. After about 3 months of intrauterine life, embryonic hemoglobin stops being synthesized in huge quantities and fetal hemoglobin is produced as a substitute, which stays until about 8 months of age. In fetal hemoglobin there are 2 alpha and two gamma globins. The normal hemoglobin (adult hemoglobin is formed which has two alpha chains and two beta chains.

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Pages = 19 (250 words per page double spaced)