Biological Role
Chlorine plays a major biological role in most higher animal life as acqueous choride anions, as part of the electrolyte makeup of inter- and intra-cellular fluids. It has been noted that the ionic strength and composition of these fluids is often similar to sea water. In humans, chloride is most commonly obtained in the diet from table salt. Excess salt intake can have health implications. Iodine are needed by our bodies in trace amounts, particularly by the thyroid gland. Its definiciency can cause goitre. The other three halogens have no known biological role.
Read more about this topic: Halogen
Famous quotes containing the words biological and/or role:
“If the most significant characteristic of man is the complex of biological needs he shares with all members of his species, then the best lives for the writer to observe are those in which the role of natural necessity is clearest, namely, the lives of the very poor.”
—W.H. (Wystan Hugh)
“Certainly parents play a crucial role in the lives of individuals who are intellectually gifted or creatively talented. But this role is not one of active instruction, of teaching children skills,... rather, it is support and encouragement parents give children and the intellectual climate that they create in the home which seem to be the critical factors.”
—David Elkind (20th century)