For me it is the fact that our blood contains iron. I earlier used to believe the word stood for some ‘organic element’ since I couldn’t accept we had metal flowing through our supposed carbon-based bodies, till I realized that is where the taste and smell of blood comes from.

You are viewing a single thread.
View all comments
13 points
*

Similar metal in the human body one, Vitamin B12 has cobalt in it. Absolutely wild. I guess that’s not really commonly known but it’s still worth mentioning

permalink
report
reply

and vitamin D has mithril in it

permalink
report
parent
reply

vitamin D warf

permalink
report
parent
reply
1 point

Strike the mithril veins! I guess?

permalink
report
parent
reply
1 point

Sorry, why is that wild? Is it cause it’s a metal? Ty

permalink
report
parent
reply
2 points

Cobalt is toxic

permalink
report
parent
reply
1 point

Everything is toxic in sufficient amounts. Even water.

permalink
report
parent
reply
1 point

May I ask what is special about cobalt in B12 specifically? I’ve come to realize there are numerous inorganic substances inside my body like copper, gold etc. so cobalt by itself doesn’t really stand out anymore.

permalink
report
parent
reply
5 points

Cobalt by itself is toxic and damages the nervous system.

permalink
report
parent
reply
1 point

Interesting

permalink
report
parent
reply
1 point

I think your idea of what is organic or inorganic is a little off. Organic things can and do involve metals and gases in various forms. According to wikipedia, “About 99% of the mass of the human body is made up of six elements: oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus.” These are elements that also appear in minerals and other rocks, but that doesn’t mean the same elements can’t be in organic compounds. Everything is made of all the same stuff on the periodic table, organic or inorganic.

permalink
report
parent
reply
1 point

huh, thank you for leading me to find out about organocobalt compounds, and complicate my understanding of organic/inorganic chemistry. I still that fits the simple definition of “organic” = “contains carbon” that most chemists would use, though.

permalink
report
parent
reply

Asklemmy

!asklemmy@lemmy.ml

Create post

A loosely moderated place to ask open-ended questions

Search asklemmy 🔍

If your post meets the following criteria, it’s welcome here!

  1. Open-ended question
  2. Not offensive: at this point, we do not have the bandwidth to moderate overtly political discussions. Assume best intent and be excellent to each other.
  3. Not regarding using or support for Lemmy: context, see the list of support communities and tools for finding communities below
  4. Not ad nauseam inducing: please make sure it is a question that would be new to most members
  5. An actual topic of discussion

Looking for support?

Looking for a community?

Icon by @Double_A@discuss.tchncs.de

Community stats

  • 9.7K

    Monthly active users

  • 4.9K

    Posts

  • 275K

    Comments