From: Ramez Naam (mez@apexnano.com)
Date: Thu Apr 03 2003 - 00:55:17 MST
From: Robert J. Bradbury [mailto:bradbury@aeiveos.com]
> One needs to take a step back to see that the system is
> misdesigned from the get-go. Either we should not be using
> iron as an oxygen transporter (eliminating the free radical
> damage it might produce if improperly managed) or we should
> not have a genetic information carrier (such as DNA) that can
> be damaged by free radicals. (Now of course if one
> eliminated the mutation of the genetic information carrier
> one probably puts a significant handicap on evolution so we
> might not even be here to discuss this but these are mere details.)
This may also be an example of something that was adaptive during the
process of human evolution but has become less so in the modern
environment. I've heard it theorized (maybe even by you, Robert?)
that humans in ancient times had lower iron consumption (less meat)
and greater iron loss among males (more bleeding from accidents and
violence). As a result, the negative effects of extremely high iron
concentrations in the body were never experienced.
mez
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