Figure.

This photograph shows a top-down / bird's eye view of a cell membrane in which a functional channel protein with the model is represented by four amino acid chains in four helices that span the lipid bilayer. This is a simplification. The real protein has 10 helical turns in each of the chains. This simplification however permits the shortened membrane protein to be assembled by learners starting from a gene and using the molecular processes of transcription and translation. The membrane pore is functional because the hydrophilic amino acids in the chain are folded into the interior of the protein and expedite the passage of ions across the membrane barrier.