Click here for How many cells are in the human body (and how long do they live)?
Click here re Semen and sperm, atoms and molecules, the "building blocks" of life.
Click here to go to Amino Acids and Hormones and Enzymes.
Click here to go to DNA, its approximate weight in each cell's nucleus, notes on the sex chromosome pair and how often anomalies occur.
Atomic Numbers of elements on this page: Hydrogen 1, Helium 2, Carbon 6, Nitrogen 7, Oxygen 8, Fluoride 9, Neon 10, Sodium 11, Chloride 17, Magnesium 12, Aluminium 13, Silicon 14, Phosphorus 15, Sulphur 16, Argon 18, Potassium 19, Calcium 20, Vanadium 23, Chromium 24, Manganese 25, Iron 26, Cobalt 27, Nickel 28, Copper 29, Zinc 30, Selenium 34, Molybdenum 42, Silver 47, Tin 50, Iodine 53, Gold 79, Mercury 80, Lead 82
Back to molecules. Click here for Precious Metals and Stones.
Click here re Uranium, as used in nuclear weapons.
Click here for the Four Forces in Physics — and a further introduction by Albert Einstein — and a prayer — bind us together Lord with cords that cannot be broken
Click here re Time & Relativity adapted from an email sent to a number of friends in June 2007.
Most of the chemical makeup of the universe (stars / suns, etc) is hydrogen (75%), a very combustible element, and at a lower level, helium (23%) with the fusion of hydrogen into helium producing both light and heat. These two elements, incidentally, have been located in our moon's very thin atmosphere. The next five most common elements are estimated as being: Oxygen (1%), Carbon (½%), then Neon, Iron and Nitrogen (at about 0.1% each).
Click here for a query in www.quora.com on the Makeup of the Sun, and its relationship to Fire.
Click here for some notes on the Makeup of the Moon plus estimates for the other 8 planets in our Solar System.
Finally, click here for the 12 constellations of stars (from NASA's perspective) using names formalized in Greek by Egyptian astronomer Claudius Ptolemy circa 150AD. The first constellation (or house) in Babylonian tradition is the star configuration in the east at the moment of sunrise on the spring equinox in the northern hemisphere, i.e. about March 21st, following which the days are longer than nights. Aries, the ram, originally thousands of years ago, has become Pisces, the fish, since about the time of Christ, with Aquarius, the water carrier, due to replace it.
The air in our atmosphere in contrast — all 5140 trillion tonnes of it — is very rich with nitrogen 78% and oxygen 21%, followed by argon 0.9% and carbon dioxide 0.03%, then very small percentages of other elements that include water vapor, dust particles, pollen, plant grains and other solid particles.
Contrasted with 1½ million trillion tonnes of water (click here for its placement) and 6 billion trillion tonnes of earth.
In the example below, the water content is 62% of volume, 60% of mass. Water H2O is
| Human Body | Atoms (volume) | Mass | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hydrogen | 62% | 10% | with about 41⅓% as being a part of the water volume |
| and about 6⅔% as being a part of the water mass | |||
| Oxygen | 24% | 65% | with about 20⅔% as being a part of the water volume |
| and about 53⅓% as being a part of the water mass | |||
| Carbon | 12% | 18½% | This figure remains fairly stable in adults |
| Sub-Total | 98% | 93½% | |
| Nitrogen | 1% | 3% | |
| Sub-Total | 99% | 96½% | |
| Remaining 1% of volume, 3½% mass consists of (1) Calcium in teeth and bones about 1½%, (2) Phosphorus about 1%, and (3) about 15 trace elements: **Sulphur, Potassium and Sodium Chloride about 0.3% each, Magnesium about 0.1% then Iron, Iodine, Fluoride, Copper, Zinc, Chromium, Selenium, Manganese, Molybdenum, Vanadium and Cobalt. **Sulphur compounds produced by certain bacteria in the gut make up the source of the odour associated most with waste and decay. | |||
Individual Elements of the Human Body
Plant Life: In fruits and vegetables, the water percentage varies from, say, 74% in bananas to 96% in lettuces and cucumbers. Most vegetables have a water content above 90%.
Average oxygen percentage via water and carbohydrates is thus much higher at about 77%, hydrogen percentage remains steady at about 10%, while carbon percentage is accordingly lower, an average of 12%. Nitrogen percentage is about 1%, with various trace elements following.
With living trees, the wood content causes the carbon percentage to be higher, around
Earth Crust: Oxygen 46% Silicon 27% Aluminium 8% Iron 6% Calcium 5% with last 8% of the crust made up of many dozens of elements.
The solid inner core is almost entirely made of iron.
** End of page
and Introduction
A brief primer on life starting with Amino Acids and vegetation.
Amino is an adjective form of ammonia, a pungent gas with the molecular formula NH3 (one Nitrogen atom and 3 Hydrogen atoms), name derived from sal ammoniac, salt deposits containing ammonium chloride found near temple of an ancient god, Baal Ammon, in Egypt and Libya.
These NH3 molecules then interact with hydro-carbon molecules, each time losing one hydrogen atom and having it replaced by the hydrogen atom in the hydro-carbon. These form long molecule chains that often include oxygen atoms and occasionally sulphur atoms, grouping always around a solid carbon atom in the centre. There are a huge number of variations to these chains. Then, along with water (liquid) and oxygen (gas), they become the basis of all life forms on the earth.
Click here for further information.
Let's go on
There are twenty standard amino acid molecules, bending and flexing inside each body to build its form. In humans, all are produced (synthesized) inside the liver. Of these, twelve amino acids are produced naturally, while the other eight are produced through nutrition.
Peptides traditionally consist of a chain between 2 and 50 amino acids long. An example is insulin produced inside the pancreas to regulate blood sugar levels. In the process, each amino acid is referred to as a monomer, as the carboxyl group (-COOH) of one is joined to the amino group (-NH2) of the next by a peptide bond of the type -CO-NH- and water. This forms a polymer, a macromolecule, with each amino acid unit referred to as a residue after the elements of water are removed.
A polypeptide is a long unbranched chain between 50 and 2000 amino acids long.
Proteins are defined as one or more polypeptides.
Hormones (from the Greek word "To impel") travel around inside the blood through the body, building new structures. There are four hormone groups: 1.Amino Acids, 2.Peptides, 3.Steroids (stiffeners), and 4.Eicosanoids (locally acting fatty acid group of 20) for immune & inflammatory responses.
Stress Related hormones
Adrenaline (C9H13NO3), Latin for "at the kidneys", also known as epinephrine, Greek for "upon the kidneys" is derived from the amino acid Tyrosine (C9H11NO3), and is generated in the adrenal glands for a "fight or flight" response, with a half-life of approximately one minute. Adrenaline of course gives you the "rush", binds to receptors on the heart and heart vessels, contracts your muscles, focuses on "movement".
Cortisol, on the other hand (C21H30O5), derived from the Latin word "cortex"/"tree bark"/"covering" of the adrenal glands, is a steroid hormone that acts as a "stopper", inhibiting much bodily activity (temporarily), while binding to receptors on your fat cells to break 'em down into glucose reserves for your muscles.
Not very healthy, all that simultaneous intense stopping of bodily functions in order to move in a focused direction over an extended period. Compared with prayer, pressing into God, and his unshakeable love for us. While studies show that stress causes women to be more prone to depression than men, other studies show men tend to ignore depression more, deny it when it develops, are slower to seek out help, and tend to die younger as a result.
Other Steroid hormones include androgens and estrogens. They too are produced by the adrenal glands atop the kidneys, and also the sex organs, both males and females. Androgens (from the Greek word for "males") are hormones more commonly found in males such as testosterone (C19H28O2). Estrogens (related to the Greek word for "frenzy or passion") are hormones more commonly found in females to assist with reproduction e.g. estradiol (C18H24O2). Chemically both are related to cholesterol (C27H46O) a lipid (fat) that coats each cell's membrane.
Click here for a full list of hormones, including a list of Amino Acids, Peptides, Steroids, and Eicosanoids.
Click here for another list of hormones, this time with links to Proteins and Growth Factors.
While made up of amino acids, they are not hormones. Enzymes (from the Greek word "in leaven, yeast"), are a specialist group of amino acids that don't do any actual "body-building" , but as large chains they do speed up activity inside the body, particularly in the digestion of food.
Click here for a list of digestive enzymes.
Note too that while most enzymes are proteins, a few are catalytic RNA (single stranded) molecules, called ribozymes.
In the nucleus of every cell (in humans) there are 23 pairs of chromosomes containing 20,000 genes (genetic blueprints) in two double stranded "ladders" (one ladder initially from mum, one ladder from dad). These are encoded inside 6 billion units (base pairs) of DNA inside the two ladders (3 billion initially from mum, 3 billion from dad). Each ladder includes atoms of phosphorus.
Approximate weight of the DNA is 6 picograms (6 trillionths of a gram).
The sex chromosome pair and the SRY gene: In the case of normal-functioning males, there is always a Y chromosome present in that 23rd chromosome pair. However, in the rare case of the SRY (Sex-determining Region Y) gene at the tip of the Y chromosome not functioning properly or other genes not functioning properly, (Swyer syndrome), the XY male will become a eunuch, like a female in appearance but without functional ovaries. Affects about one in 80,000 births. This also occurs, rarely, when Complete Androgen Insensitivity syndrome occurs, when the Androgen Receptor gene in cells is broken or missing so the cells can't bind (respond) to androgen hormones to build male testes. Affects about one in 20,000-80,000 births. Another very rare genetic anomaly, about 200 cases reported worldwide, (PMDS) can cause XY males to develop a uterus and ovaries.
Other rare genetic cases can occur with females causing them to function more like males, though never with an ability to produce sperm. Experiments, sadly, are working on this.
One example is the XX male syndrome which occurs when an X chromosome on the father's side picks up the SRY gene. Affects about one in 20,000 births and always sterile.
With regard to other anomalies affecting the sex chromosome pair, below are the statistics.
Y chromosome anomalies
** End of Page