Hemoglobin is a protein containing iron that facilitates the transport of oxygen in red blood cells. Almost all vertebrates contain hemoglobin, with the exception of the fish family Channichthyidae. Hemoglobin in the blood carries oxygen from the respiratory organs to the other tissues of the body, where it releases the oxygen to enable aerobic respiration which powers the animal's metabolism. A healthy human has 12 to 20 grams of hemoglobin in every 100 mL of blood. Hemoglobin is a metalloprotein, a chromoprotein, and globulin.
A hemoglobin concentration measurement being administered before a blood donation at the American Red Cross Boston Blood Donation Center.
The giant tube worm Riftia pachyptila showing red hemoglobin-containing plumes
Heart of Steel (Hemoglobin) (2005) by Julian Voss-Andreae. The images show the 5-foot (1.5 m) tall sculpture right after installation, after 10 days, and after several months of exposure to the elements.
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, responding to stimuli, providing structure to cells and organisms, and transporting molecules from one location to another. Proteins differ from one another primarily in their sequence of amino acids, which is dictated by the nucleotide sequence of their genes, and which usually results in protein folding into a specific 3D structure that determines its activity.
John Kendrew with model of myoglobin in progress
Proteins in different cellular compartments and structures tagged with green fluorescent protein (here, white)
Constituent amino-acids can be analyzed to predict secondary, tertiary and quaternary protein structure, in this case hemoglobin containing heme units