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Meaning of alpha helix in English:

alpha helix

noun

Biochemistry

  • One of the two common conformations of the secondary structure of proteins, in which the polypeptide chain assumes the form of a straight, tightly coiled helix, stabilized by hydrogen bonding between carbonyl and amide groups in the peptide linkages of the chain.

Origin

1950s; earliest use found in Linus Pauling (1901–1994), chemist and biochemist.