The term science also refers to the organized body of knowledge people have gained using that system. Less formally, the word science often describes any systematic field of study or the knowledge gained from it. Get great science articles each month with the. Science Made Simple newsletter.
Phenylalanine has been around as long as life itself, if not longer. It's not something that someone invented one day. It's like oxygen: no one invented it, it's been here as long as anyone can remember, and far longer! J. Heinrich Matthaei and Marshall W. Nirenberg figured out a way to make a bacterium produce long chains of phenylalanine molecules in 1961.
Phenylalanine is an amino acid, a âbuilding blockâ of protein. There are three forms of phenylalanine: D-phenylalanine, L-phenylalanine, and the mix made in the laboratory called DL-phenylalanine. D-phenylalanine is not an essential amino acid, and its role in people is not currently understood. L-phenylalanine is an essential amino acid and is the only form of phenylalanine found in proteins. Major dietary sources of L-phenylalanine include meat, fish, eggs, cheese, and milk. Phenylalanine is used for depression, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Parkinson's disease, chronic pain, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, alcohol withdrawal symptoms, and a skin disease called vitiligo.