The Importance of Water in Biological Systems

It is hardly necessary to emphasize the importance of water to life. Water in the blood not only runs through our bodies, but also runs our bodies. We need to constantly supply our body with water in order to keep it going. Water, as a solvent, helps distribute various chemicals needed in the different parts of the body, and at the same time it helps to discharge other waste chemicals that are not needed, or those that are even harmful. But water does much more than merely transport chemicals around the body. It affects in specific ways a multitude of biochemical processes taking place in each of our cells. It has long been speculated that life as we know it on this planet could not have started without water. Although this is merely speculation, it is a reasonable one. Strictly speaking of course, we 

As we have noted, the molar volume of ice is larger than that of liquid water. Everyone is familiar with the phenomenon of ice floating on top of water. If the molar volume of ice were not larger than that of water, ice formed on the surface of the ocean would sink to the bottom and then be insulated by the water covering it (water is a good thermal insulator). Over time, more 

The fact that ice floats on top of the water helps to maintain the relatively high temperature of liquid water underneath — this in turn helps to maintain life in water in spite of lower temperatures above the surface. Clearly, when the temperature of the atmosphere increases, it is the ice on the surface that melts first — this too contributes to the maintenance of the water temperature underneath. 

The high value of the heat capacity of water is of primary importance in regulating the temperature of a living system. In 

This explains why water can rise in the interior of tall trees, even up to the highest leaves where it is needed in photosynthesis and temperature regulation. 

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