Good ideas and conversation. No ads, no tracking. Login or Take a Tour!
Dala · 2210 days ago · link · · parent · post: Scientists discover the universe has much less phosphorus than we thought, potentially meaning there are fewer aliens
I wonder if there are other elements which can take the place of phosphorus in our biology (or that of an alien species)? I know there are illnesses that are caused when our bodies take in certain elements and they take the place of others in some process, which works but isn't quite right.
–
http://periodictable.com/Properties/A/UniverseAbundance.v.log.html If I am understanding this table correctly, there is a whole lot more arsenic out there than phosphorus, so if biology can take a slightly different route, the lack of phosphorus is not necessarily as big of an issue as it might seem (to us who are dependent upon it)?