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In the following sentence I think had is wrongly used and has should be used instead

The researchers, including those from the Salk Institute in the U.S., said that while an average protein molecule present in the human body has around 300 chemical units called amino acids, the microproteins had fewer than 100 of the building blocks.

Am I right?

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  • This question would be better if you explained why you think "had" is wrong. Presumably it is because the previous clause is in the present tense. But it would be nice if you wrote this instead of just hoping that we will guess.
    – James K
    Commented Oct 31, 2019 at 21:48

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The statement is actually correct.

an average protein molecule present in the human body has around 300 chemical units called amino acids

This refers to an established scientific fact.

If we reduce the statement:

The researchers, including those from the Salk Institute in the U.S., said that the microproteins had fewer than 100 of the building blocks.

"Had" (past tense), here, is referring to the research they did/observation they made (in the past).

If the researchers wanted to claim it as a fact, the statement would use "have" (as "microproteins" is plural):

The researchers, including those from the Salk Institute in the U.S., said that the microproteins have fewer than 100 of the building blocks.

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