JoshuaSlowpoke777@lemmy.world to

Ask Science@lemmy.worldEnglish · 8 months ago

Do we have any theories as to why complex life eventually started requiring various metal elements as micronutrients?

54

Do we have any theories as to why complex life eventually started requiring various metal elements as micronutrients?

JoshuaSlowpoke777@lemmy.world to

Ask Science@lemmy.worldEnglish · 8 months ago

For example, why did zinc, of all things, start getting utilized by brain and prostate tissue in humans?

Chat

CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org
link
fedilink
English
arrow-up
3·
8 months ago
I’m guessing the main reason is “why not”. It’s in the environment, and one day some critter mutated a new process that involved it.

It’s not just complex life, either. Bacteria use all kinds of strange elements in various enzymes and complexes.

Ask Science@lemmy.world

askscience@lemmy.world

You are not logged in. However you can subscribe from another Fediverse account, for example Lemmy or Mastodon. To do this, paste the following into the search field of your instance: !askscience@lemmy.world

Ask a science question, get a science answer.

Community Rules

Rule 1: Be respectful and inclusive.

Treat others with respect, and maintain a positive atmosphere.

Rule 2: No harassment, hate speech, bigotry, or trolling.

Avoid any form of harassment, hate speech, bigotry, or offensive behavior.

Rule 3: Engage in constructive discussions.

Contribute to meaningful and constructive discussions that enhance scientific understanding.

Rule 4: No AI-generated answers.

Strictly prohibit the use of AI-generated answers. Providing answers generated by AI systems is not allowed and may result in a ban.

Rule 5: Follow guidelines and moderators' instructions.

Adhere to community guidelines and comply with instructions given by moderators.

Rule 6: Use appropriate language and tone.

Communicate using suitable language and maintain a professional and respectful tone.

Rule 7: Report violations.

Report any violations of the community rules to the moderators for appropriate action.

Rule 8: Foster a continuous learning environment.

Encourage a continuous learning environment where members can share knowledge and engage in scientific discussions.

Rule 9: Source required for answers.

Provide credible sources for answers. Failure to include a source may result in the removal of the answer to ensure information reliability.

By adhering to these rules, we create a welcoming and informative environment where science-related questions receive accurate and credible answers. Thank you for your cooperation in making the Ask Science community a valuable resource for scientific knowledge.

We retain the discretion to modify the rules as we deem necessary.

Visibility: Public

This community can be federated to other instances and be posted/commented in by their users.

3 users / day
107 users / week
603 users / month
2.64K users / 6 months
1 local subscriber
8.6K subscribers
203 Posts
2.24K Comments
Modlog