28th chemical element key to life discovered

In a study, researchers have found the 28th chemical element essential for tissue development in all animals - from primitive sea creatures to humans.

Twenty-seven chemical elements are considered to be essential for human life. Now there is a 28th - bromine.

"Without bromine, there are no animals. That is the discovery," said Billy Hudson, Elliott V. Newman professor of medicine at Tennessee-based Vanderbilt University in the US.

Researchers have established for the first time that bromine, among the 92 naturally-occurring chemical elements in the universe, is the 28th element essential for tissue development.

They showed that fruit flies died when bromine was removed from their diet.

This finding has important implications for kidney diseases.

Bromine supplementation may improve the health of patients on dialysis or total parenteral nutrition (TPN).

The paper was published in the journal Cell.