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Question
Why is life on Earth called "carbon-based?"
Of all the life we recognize on Earth, each organism is made up of molecules with a carbon backbone. Carbon is an ideal element for complicated living systems because it has four unpaired electrons enabling it to have four stable covalent bonds with other elements. With such bonding versatility, (not to mention the given abundance of carbon in the universe), carbon is able to form long chains, rings, and other complex molecules. Cabon-based molecules can take on many different forms from DNA and neurotransmitters to human hair and squid ink! No other element has yet shown the bonding versatility and stability of carbon, not to mention the property of self-replication unique to some carbon-based molecules.
April 30, 2002
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