Epic Quest Bio The case files
Case No. 91 · have you seen this molecule?

Papain

the meat tenderizer in papaya

File sealed

The detectives are still writing this one up. The poster and the facts are below; the film and the interrogation room open soon.

Booking photographs

Papain, front view, against a height chart in nanometers
FRONT
Papain, side view
SIDE · PDB 9PAP

The suspect, from its real atomic coordinates. Drag to turn it. Height chart in nanometers, ruled every 0.2 nm. A papaya is about fifty million times longer.

Rap sheet

Answers to
Papain. Also goes by papaya proteinase I.
Height
5.4 nm, standing on end.
Weight
39 zeptograms
Build
One chain of 212 links, folded into two lobes with a cleft where it cuts.
Habits
Chops up proteins. That’s how it tenderizes steak.
Origins
The milky sap that runs from a scratched green papaya.
Hours
Asleep until the fruit is cut. Awake within two minutes.
Known for
Guarding papaya trees from leaf-eating insects.
Last seen
A 5 mL tube marked GREEN PAPAYA in the fridge at HQ.
270,000,000,000,000,000

of them in one large green papaya, very roughly.
Papayas vary. You’ve never seen one.

The poster on the street

The wanted poster for Papain

This is the photocopied wanted poster for Papain, No. 91. They were made for noticeboards around Boston, Cambridge and the rest of the east coast.

Found one? Scan its QR code with your phone. If you're a signed-in player, the sighting goes on your record with +1 XP.

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