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danrthemanr OP t1_j1o8ly8 wrote

Reply to comment by 0oSlytho0 in Maybe a simple question, but why are proteins structural? by danrthemanr

It's kind of like "entropy is always trying to destroy structures, these are just the ones that continue to work" or whatever? Like, "nature is in fact constantly trying other ways of continuing these structures--they just get destroyed faster than they can be built" or whatever?

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0oSlytho0 t1_j1pbrid wrote

Entropy just is, it's not trying anything. Same for nature.

Cells actively remove proteins which arem't needed anymore. E.g. Ubiquitin gets attached so the proteasome can recognise them and break them down. Protein decay happens over time as well but that's also a good thing for cells. It's part of the waste management to keep cells from getting stuffed with old proteins that can aggregate together.

So no, they are not destroyed faster than they can be built. There's a whole system in place to determine what needs to go when.

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