Calcium
hideCalcium (pronounced /ˈkælsiəm/) is the chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. It has an atomic mass of 40.078 amu. Calcium is a soft grey alkaline earth metal, and is the fifth most abundant element by mass in the Earth's crust. Calcium is also the fifth most abundant dissolved ion in seawater by both molarity and mass, after sodium, chloride, magnesium, and sulfate.
Calcium is essential for living organisms, particularly in cell physiology, where movement of the calcium ion Ca2+ into and out of the cytoplasm functions as a signal for many cellular processes. As a major material used in mineralization of bones and shells, calcium is the most abundant metal by mass in many animals.
For more information about Calcium, read the full article at
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News tagged with calcium
Watching Proteins Direct Crystal Growth One Step at a Time (w/ Video)
Dec 16, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at Berkeley Lab's Molecular Foundry imaged the growth of protein-studded mineral surfaces with unprecedented resolution and provided a glimpse into how living systems engineer key ...
Acid test: Study reveals both losers and winners of CO2-induced ocean acidification
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 01, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- As the world’s seawater becomes more acidic due to rising atmospheric carbon dioxide, some shelled marine creatures may actually become bigger and stronger, according to a new study.
All decked out: Networks of chitin filaments are integral components of diatom silica shells
Dec 01, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A whole microcosm of various bizarrely shaped life forms opens up when you look at diatoms, the primary component of ocean plankton, under a microscope. The regularly structured silica shells of these tiny ...
Nature's fine designs: Scientists find modern lessons in ancient creations
Dec 04, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Nature and its bottom-up processes for creating robust and responsive materials are inspiring new generations of synthetic materials and creative design.
New study links vitamin D deficiency to cardiovascular disease and death
Nov 16, 2009 |
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While mothers have known that feeding their kids milk builds strong bones, a new study by researchers at the Heart Institute at Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City suggests that Vitamin D contributes to a strong ...
Could salt crusts be key ingredient in cooking up prebiotic molecules?
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Sep 18, 2009 |
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German scientists investigating the complex chemical mixture thought to be present in the early Earth’s oceans have found that amino acids can be 'cooked' into many other important chemical building blocks ...
Progress Toward Artificial Tissue?
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
May 15, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- For modern implants and the growth of artificial tissue and organs, it is important to generate materials with characteristics that closely emulate nature.
A RANK insider resolving the enigma of the fever chart
Nov 25, 2009 |
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Mammals have evolved a complex system for controlling bone remodeling. Babies require calcium for healthy bones and they obtain it from their mother's milk. Nursing mothers release calcium from their bones. Surprisingly, ...
Mollusks taste memories to build shells (w/Video)
Apr 02, 2009 |
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University of California, Berkeley, graduate student Alistair Boettiger has amassed a beautiful collection of seashells, but not by combing the beach. He created them in his computer.
Alzheimer’s Findings Resolve Dispute Over How Disease Kills Brain Cells
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Apr 15, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- For a decade, Alzheimer's disease researchers have been entrenched in debate about one of the mechanisms believed to be responsible for brain cell death and memory loss in the illness.
Diet may reduce risk of prostate cancer
Jun 03, 2009 |
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A new review published in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics assessed whether certain modifications in diet have a beneficial effect on the prevention of prostate cancer. Results suggest that a diet low in fat an ...
Spotting evidence of directed percolation
Nov 17, 2009 |
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A team of physicists has, for the first time, seen convincing experimental evidence for directed percolation, a phenomenon that turns up in computer models of the ways diseases spread through a population ...
German scientists produce first Bose-Einstein condensate with calcium atoms
Sep 22, 2009 |
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Physicists at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (Germany) have succeeded in producing a Bose-Einstein condensate from the alkaline earth element calcium. The use of alkaline earth atoms creates new ...
A crystal clear view of chalk formation
Jan 23, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- It has a beautiful, but also an unpleasant side: crystallization determines the shape of precious stones, but also causes the lime scale in washing machines. How this comes about, has been ...
Seafloor Fossils Provide Clues on Climate Change
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Oct 22, 2009 |
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Deep under the sea, a fossil the size of a sand grain is nestled among a billion of its closest dead relatives. Known as foraminifera, these complex little shells of calcium carbonate can tell you the sea ...
