In the human body the most common bioelements (in decreasing order of occurrence) are oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus. Life on earth would not be possible without carbon. Carbon can be found in all four of the biomolecules (carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids). In biomolecules, carbon is usually the most abundant element. The unique properties of carbon make it a central part of biological molecules.
The reason is carbon's ability to form stable bonds with many elements, including itself. This property allows carbon to form a huge variety of very large and complex molecules. In fact, there are nearly 10 million carbon-based compounds in living things!
On Earth, most carbon is stored in rocks and sediments, while the rest is located in the ocean, atmosphere, and in living organisms. The elements from carbon to iron are relatively more abundant in the universe because of the ease of making them in supernova nucleosynthesis.
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