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From: Don Bashford <bashford@scripps.edu>
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Subject: Re: Phosphate ion -- uniqurely suited for energy transport?
Date: 26 Jun 2000 17:20:58 -0700
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>>>>> "Ed" == Ed Koenig <edko@shore.net> writes:

    Ed> Some years back, when I was working at the Harvard Science
    Ed> Center, I ran across a reprint of what seemed to be a classic
    Ed> paper from the 40's or 50's on why phosphate ion had the ideal
    Ed> characteristics for moving energy around in living systems of
    Ed> the sort we have on Earth.  Since I can't recall the author or
    Ed> title, searching for the paper has proven impossible, and I
    Ed> was hoping someone here would point me in the right direction,
    Ed> as I promised a science fiction author who likes to deal with
    Ed> extra-terrestrial chemistry and biology that I'd send him a
    Ed> copy.  Thanks.

This isn't as old as you say, and may not be the one, but it might
have citations that would help.

@Article{Westheimer87,
  author = 	 {Westheimer, F. H.},
  title = 	 {Why Nature Chose Phosphates},
  journal = 	 {Science},
  year = 	 1987,
  volume =	 235,
  pages =	 {1173--1178}
}




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