Abalone oxidation

Taurine is generally prepared from ox bile1 or the large muscle of the abalone.2 It has been synthesized from isethionic add through chloroethanesulfonic acid followed by the action of aqueous ammonia 3 from ethyleneimine and sulfur dioxide 4 from 2-mercaptothiazoline by oxidation with bromine water 5 from bromoethylamine and ammonium sulfite 6 and from acetaldehyde by a complex set of reactions involving sulfonation, formation of the aldehyde ammonia and the imido sulfonic add and finally reduction.7 The method given in the procedure has recently appeared in the literature.8 9... 

Calcium and oxygen are major players in other external materials encountered in nature beyond shells and bones. Abalone shells, deer antlers, lobster shells, sponge skeletons, bird-of-paradise stems, porcupine quills, toucan beaks, and feathers are all listed in a single review on biomimetic materials, and all are linked with calcium, oxygen, and/or oxidized crosslinks. This is what calcium and oxygen made possible right before the Cambrian explosion. 

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