Period 5 element dimethyl telluride, (CH)Te, a gas with a garlic-like odor which is exhaled in the breath of victims of tellurium toxicity or exposure. Iodine is the heaviest essential element utilized widely by life in biological functions (only tungsten, employed in enzymes by a few species of bacteria, is heavier). Iodine's rarity in many soils, due to initial low abundance as a crust-element, and also leaching of soluble iodide by rainwater, has led to many deficiency problems in land animals and inland human populations. Iodine deficiency affects about two billion people and is the leading preventable cause of intellectual disabilities. Iodine is
Acyl-CoA oxidase deficiency Acyl-CoA oxidase deficiency Acyl-CoA oxidase deficiency (ACOX1 deficiency) is a rare disorder that leads to significant damage and deterioration of nervous system functions (neurodegeneration). It is caused by pathogenic variants in "ACOX1", which codes for the production of an enzyme called peroxisomal straight-chain acyl-CoA oxidase (ACOX1). This specific enzyme is responsible for the breakdown of very long chain fatty acids (VLCFAs). Defective function of the ACOX1 enzyme prevents proper breakdown of these VLCFAs, leading to accumulation and interference with the nervous system. Acyl-CoA oxidase deficiency affects a person from birth, and most newborns affected with this condition will not survive