It is also necessary for us to ensure that enough zinc is in our diets in order to avoid zinc deficiencies and to live healthy lives. Zinc is abbreviated as Zn on the Periodic Table of the Elements and its atomic number is Our human bodies use zinc for skin and bone health, sexual maturation and to process food and nutrients, claims the Mineral Information Institute.
The human body needs 0. The element zinc was discovered in Germany in by Andreas Marggraf. However, zinc ores were commonly used to make brass as early as to B. Alaska mines the most zinc in the U.
Ogdensburg, New Jersey, was once a large producer of zinc, but these mines are now closed. It is now known that zinc is essential for human health in general and the functioning of the human immune system in particular. Zinc-based creams and lotions are widely used to protect the skin against the harmful effects of the sun.
Zinc is used in water purification systems and zinc supplements are added to soil to protect crop yields. The key provision of sustainability is to fulfil present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs too.
Thus sustainability focuses on economic growth, environmental protection and social progress. Zinc makes a significant contribution to sustainable development. In its role as a steel protector, zinc is an essential material for public and private infrastructure development, prolonging the useful life of steel goods and structures and reducing the cost of their maintenance. As a natural essential element, zinc is part of every ecosystem. Zinc is completely recyclable, providing a sustainable resource for future generations.
Zinc contributes to social progress too, by providing affordable shelter, promoting good health and contributing to the durability of the infrastructure and transport systems on which a modern society depends. Zinc compounds have a variety of uses. Zinc chloride is often added to timber as a chemical fire retardant.
Zinc sulfide is used in fluorescent bulbs — it converts ultraviolet light to visible light. Zinc oxide is used as a white pigment in paint. If you have a set of oil paints, check to see if your tube of white paint has the word zinc in its name.
Zinc oxide is used in sunscreen. It forms a barrier on the skin and reflects or scatters the UV waves. People who spend a lot of time in the sun — cricket players for example — may use a thick, white zinc cream on their nose or lips.
Most sunscreens look white at first but become clear when rubbed on the skin because the zinc oxide consists of tiny nanoparticles. There was concern that these nanoparticles might be dangerous, but a study showed that the tiny particles do not penetrate the skin or harm skin cells.
On the farm, zinc oxide drenches are used to prevent or treat facial eczema in sheep and cattle. The animals can also receive zinc in a pill form or in their drinking water. Not all science is done in the lab. In the s, Gladys Reid — a farmer, dental nurse and citizen scientist living in Te Aroha — discovered that putting zinc salts in water troughs was the best prevention for facial eczema in livestock. It's possible that the zinc release creates a barrier against the entry of more than one sperm, which would be fatal to the developing embryo.
But that's yet to be proven, said study co-author Teresa Woodruff, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology and fertility preservation at Northwestern University. The zinc fireworks could have real-world applications for women dealing with infertility, Woodruff told Live Science. The zinc "sparks" could potentially hint at the egg's vitality, allowing doctors to choose the best fertilized eggs for implantation in the uterus.
Cells in the brain, particularly the memory region known as the hippocampus, also hoard zinc, as do insulin-releasing cells in the pancreas, O'Halloran added. What's more, the research highlights how life uses the raw materials of the Periodic Table in order to thrive. Life, from its very earliest point has been adapting and using the minerals and inorganic components of nature, and has carried that on even at the highest stages of evolution.
Stephanie Pappas is a contributing writer for Live Science covering topics from geoscience to archaeology to the human brain and behavior. A freelancer based in Denver, Colorado, she also regularly contributes to Scientific American and The Monitor, the monthly magazine of the American Psychological Association. Stephanie received a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of South Carolina and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Live Science.
0コメント