title: Calcium - how and why?
abstract: Calcium is among the most commonly used ions, in a multitude of biological functions, so much so that it is impossible to imagine life without calcium. In this article I have attempted to address the question as to how calcium has achieved this status with a brief mention of the history of calcium research in biology. It appears that during the origin and early evolution of life the Ca2+ ion was given a unique opportunity to be used in several biological processes because of its unusual physical and chemical properties.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Cellular Biophysics, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York 10021, USA. jaiswaj@mail.rockefeller.edu
authors.forename: J K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Jaiswal
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000737:chemistry / Q000266:history / Q000378:metabolism*; D020013:Calcium Signaling / Q000502:physiology*; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D050356:Lipid Metabolism; D008561:Membrane Fusion / Q000502:physiology; D015394:Molecular Structure; D011506:Proteins / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D011506:Proteins; D002118:Calcium