Lactam

Okay kiddo, so you know how we have different kinds of food like fruits, veggies, and meat, right?
Well, there's another kind of food called "amino acids".
When lots of amino acids join together they make something called a protein.
One kind of protein is called a "peptide", which is made up of just a few amino acids joined together.
And sometimes, peptides can join together to make an even bigger protein called a "polypeptide".
Now, here's where it gets interesting. Sometimes, when a polypeptide gets all folded up into a certain shape, a special chemical reaction can happen that turns part of the polypeptide into a "lactam".
Lactams are like a smaller, ring-shaped version of a polypeptide.
And scientists think lactams might be really useful for making medicines that can help people be healthy when they're sick!