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CHNOPS

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The relative atomic diameters of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur

CHON (or CHNOPS) is an mnemonic acronym for the four most common (or six most essential) elements in living organisms: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen.

The acronym CHNOPS, which stands for carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur, represents the six most important chemical elements whose covalent combinations go to make up most biological molecules on Earth.[1] Sulfur is used in the amino acids cysteine and methionine.[2] Phosphorus is an essential element in the formation of phospholipids, a class of lipids that are a major component of all cell membranes as they can form lipid bilayers which keep ions, proteins and other molecules where they are needed for cell function and prevents them from diffusing into areas where they should not be, and are also an essential component of nucleic acids.[3]

Carbonaceous asteroids are rich in CHON elements.[4] These asteroids are the most common type and frequently collide with Earth as meteorites. Such collisions were especially common early in Earth's history and these impactors may have been crucial in the formation of the planet's oceans.[5]

See also

Look up CHON or CHNOPS in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

References

  1. ^ Education (2010). "CHNOPS: The Six Most Abundant Elements of Life". Pearson Education. Pearson BioCoach. Retrieved 10 December 2010. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help) "Most biological molecules are made from covalent combinations of six important elements, whose chemical symbols are CHNOPS. ... Although more than 25 types of elements can be found in biomolecules, six elements are most common. These are called the CHNOPS elements; the letters stand for the chemical abbreviations of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur."
  2. ^ Brosnan JT, Brosnan ME (2006). "The sulfur-containing amino acids: an overview". The Journal of Nutrition. 136 (6 Suppl): 1636S–1640S. PMID 16702333. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  3. ^ Campbell, Neil A. (2006). Biology: Exploring Life. Boston, Massachusetts: Pearson Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-250882-6. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ Water vs. Rocks: Resources for Earth or for Exploration? SSI-TV video archive, recorded on 30 October 2010, 66:07, four talks and Q&A given during Session 2: Extraterrestrial Prospecting of the Space Studies Institute’s Space Manufacturing 14 conference in California. Prof. Michael A'Hearn (University of Maryland) @ 7:10 in the video. The video also includes Brad Blair, Space Studies Institute, and Prof. Leslie Gertsch, University of Missouri-Rolla: Mining Concepts Development for Accessing Asteroid Resources; Mark Sonter, Asteroid Enterprises Pty Ltd Resources: Asteroids: What We Can Expect From What We Know Now; Dr. Faith Vilas, University of Arizona, Department of Astronomy and Steward Observatory, accessed 2011-01-07.
  5. ^ Morbidelli, A.; et al. (2000), "Source regions and time scales for the delivery of water to Earth", Meteoritics & Planetary Science, 35 (6): 1309–1320, Bibcode:2000M&PS...35.1309M, doi:10.1111/j.1945-5100.2000.tb01518.x {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

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