alpha helix
Biochemistry
noun
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.