Strands of proteins consist of amino acids organized into alpha helixes and beta sheets Almost all proteins are made of amino acids organized in some twisting, folding combination of alpha helixes and beta sheets. The helixes twist after 3.6 amino acids. Alpha helixes are largely hydrophobic amino acids.
The side chains of the helix stick out away from the backbone making it rather "bristly".
Take a strip of paper and pull a blade of sissors against it. What makes it curl into a spiral?
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