(urth) note Re: Short Sun blog

[Dan'l Danehy-Oakes]

On Mon, Sep 27, 2010 at 4:48 AM, David Stockhoff <dstockhoff at verizon.net> wrote:

> Copper-based life seems to prove the rule by not existing here.

Hemocyanins (also spelled haemocyanins) are respiratory proteins in
the form of metalloproteins containing two copper atoms that
reversibly bind a single oxygen molecule (O2). Oxygenation causes a
color change between the colorless Cu(I) deoxygenated form and the
blue Cu(II) oxygenated form. Hemocyanins carry oxygen in the hemolymph
of most molluscs, and some arthropods, including the horseshoe crab,
Limulus polyphemus. They are second only to hemoglobin in biological
popularity of use in oxygen transport.[1] Unlike the hemoglobin in red
blood cells found in vertebrates, hemocyanins are not bound to blood
cells but are instead suspended directly in the hemolymph.

(from Wikipedia)

-- 
Dan'l Danehy-Oakes