Humans Need Metal For Strong Bones, Sort of Like Wolverine from X-Men

In the United Kingdom, researchers used the Diamond Light Source facility and its X-ray light that is 10 billion times brighter than the Sun to better understand bone growth. For the first time ever, they were able to pinpoint the location and chemistry of metals inside the bone to better understand how metals are crucial for bone growth and development. While we don’t need to transform into Wolverine with metal body parts, researchers found that if humans don’t have key metals in them like copper, calcium, zinc and strontium, their bones don’t grow properly. This was the first time that the x-rays were able to show detailed images of where the tiny metals were located in the bones, helping researchers understand the ossification process, which will be helpful for other bone processes like remodeling and cartilage replacement.