Published: March 22, 2016
Total Running Time: 00:23:08
Whether it's animal, vegetable, or mineral, the odds are good that it contains magnesium—and, if it's a living thing, that magnesium is key to its functioning. A single magnesium ion sits at the center of each chlorophyll molecule, making it a linchpin for photosynthesis, and our cells require magnesium for hundreds of enzymes and metabolic processes. Spawned from supernovae and scattered through interstellar dust, this life-giving alkaline earth metal readily reacts and is abundant in seawater, the Earth's crust, and the universe itself.