Your Inner Fish

by

Neil Shubin

Proteoglycan Term Analysis

A protein found in between the cells of healthy cartilage that soaks up water in bristle-like branches so that the proteoglycan can cushion the cartilage cells, and they can withstand compression force and bounce back to their original shape.
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Proteoglycan Term Timeline in Your Inner Fish

The timeline below shows where the term Proteoglycan appears in Your Inner Fish. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 7: Adventures in Bodybuilding
Similarities Between All Animals Theme Icon
Understanding Complex Concepts Through Simple Analogies Theme Icon
...its cells, with lots of collagen filling in and an incredibly specialized molecule called a proteoglycan that can fill up with water to cushion the cartilage cells to withstand force. Like... (full context)
History of Life  Theme Icon
...to the earliest bodies, almost all animals with a body seem to have collagen and proteoglycans in between their body cells. The earliest creatures with bodies would have had to make... (full context)
Similarities Between All Animals Theme Icon
History of Life  Theme Icon
...cell communication. Expanding her research on microbes, King then found primitive versions of collagen and proteoglycan on the surfaces of different microbes that specialize in invading and infecting other cells. (full context)