The First Workshop on the Element Strategy of Life Systems (March, 2012)

Since the birth of life systems on the earth, they have long utilized rare elements, such as transition metals and heavy-row heteroatoms, to expand their territory. For example, iron is used as a carrier of oxygen, magnesium is incorporated as a catalyst of photosynthesis, and iodine is used in the human thyroid gland to regulate the growth. Thus, life systems possess a highly efficient element strategy beyond human’s wisdom. In this workshop on the Element Strategy of Life Systems, we discussed on the life’s element strategy from a view point of organic chemists and applications of NeoBioMolecules (NBM) as biological probes and drugs. We defined NBM as a derivative of a biomolecule, such as amino acids and carbohydrates, with a single or few element substitutions. The workshop started with the members of Michio Iwaoka (Tokai University), Makoto Oba (Tokai University), Kei Goto (Tokyo Institute of Technology), and Mitsuji Yamashita (Shizuoka University).

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