Jaiswal J K
Laboratory of Cellular Biophysics, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York 10021, USA.
J Biosci. 2001 Sep;26(3):357-63. doi: 10.1007/BF02703745.
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.
