Phosphorus is essential to the growth of biological organisms, including both their metabolic and photosynthetic processes. Phosphorus occurs naturally in bodies of water mainly in the form of phosphate (i.e., a compound of phosphorus and oxygen)....

A phosphate is a salt that is prepared from orthophosphoric acid. Phosphates are usually sodium salts but can also include potassium, calcium, magnesium, and ammonium salts as well. The phosphates have a wide range of applications in the chemical...

A phosphate group is an ion that contains one phosphorous atom bonded to four oxygen atoms. It is typically derived from a phosphoric acid and is anionic, having a negative three charge. When a phosphate group is attached to an organic compound it is...

Pure phosphorus is rare in nature. It usually combines with oxygen to form phosphate ions or groups (PO 3- 4 ). Phosphates are considered organic when phosphate groups attach to carbon atoms or inorganic when phosphate ions associate with minerals such...

A phosphate, in inorganic chemistry, is a salt of phosphoric acid. In organic chemistry, a phosphate, or organophosphate, is an ester of phosphoric acid. Phosphates are important in biochemistry and...

China's environmental watchdog ordered factories polluting a scenic lake to stop production Tuesday, following an algae bloom that contaminated the drinking water supply for 2 million people.Foul-smelling blue-green algae on Lake Tai last month turned tap water yellow and smelly in Wuxi, a city on...

U.S. farmers are trying to increase corn production to meet growing demand for ethanol. Without enough fertilizer to help corn crops grow, farmers will not meet that demand.Rising demand for ethanol has led to a 15% rise in planned U.S. corn plantings, according to the...

Chinese investigators are still searching for the cause of at least six deaths among patients who received the same brand of antibiotic, a deputy health minister said Thursday, . Local officials have been ordered to file daily reports on possible...

Railroad operator CSX Corp. said Tuesday its profit rose more than 5 percent in the fourth quarter, as expanding business and productivity increases offset sharply higher fuel costs.CSX said it reported net earnings of $365 million, or 86 cents per share, for the three months...