The Arts of Xenobiology and Xenoecology
In the absence of actual xenoorganisms to study, these can hardly be sciences....
First, some websites which have more professional efforts than mine:
I am maintaining this page to impose some discipline on my background for Iskandria.
The Molybdenum Limit: Nucleic Acid metabolism and extraterrestial colonies
Off to Med School!!
University of Kansas Medical Center
Martindale's Virtual Medical Center
PubMed: National Library of Medicine article search engine
OMIM™: National Center for Biotechnology Information's Online Inheritance in Man.
I am not called to be a doctor, or any sort of medical specialist. I do not give out medical
advice because I do not want the responsibility. [It's also illegal under U.S. law....]
I have repeatedly found that sources of medical knowledge, other than medical school
and other doctor-professional resources [including government agencies], are often dangerously
inaccurate. I provide medical links because "information wants to be free!" ;) The easiest
action I can take to stop medical misinformation from killing people is to provide references
to plausibly accurate medical information.
Self-diagnosis, in many circumstances, is dangerous because a given superficial syndrome can
result from many different causes. Don't.
I have found the perspective of trusted, competent medical professionals of great assistance
in understanding the practical applications of medical knowledge -- and highly recommend that
you locate such professionals.
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing -- but my life has been endangered by my lack
of systematic medical knowledge before.
Key points here:
- Nucleic acid synthesis should be strongly conserved.
- Humans do not use dietary nucleic acids [except to break them down]. Dietary
nucleic acids do not end up in human DNA or RNA. This suggests that nucleic acid
supplements are indeed a complete waste of money.
- Purine metabolism ends up with uric acid as the ultimate byproduct. Most documented
forms of gout cause physical problems because of excessive uric acid. [Low-tech control
measure: eggs, milk??]
- Xanthine oxidase, the enzyme that immediately yields uric acid, uses molybdenum [Mo] as a cofactor.
Molybdenum has no known RDA...but total inability to synthesize xanthine oxidase does enable an otherwise non-existent kind of rare kidney stone.
The last point could pose problems for extraterrestrial and interstellar colonies. An alien
ecology that fails to use molybdenum poses subtle dietary hazards.
For environmentalists, another concern is the possibility of molybdenum being toxic to alien
carnivores or fungi. ["The wild __ ate him -- and then died in agony."]
OMIM™ is a trademark of the 
National Center for Biotechnology Information.
Opinions, comments, criticism, etc.? Let me know about it.
Return to the Iskandria page, or the main page.