Hands up all those trekkies that can recall Spock using that particular reference when talking about aliens, you know the line “Captain, the ships scanners are picking up a large number of carbon based life forms”. These ‘lifeforms’ nearly always ended up looking a lot like us but just in an interesting shade of blue or in serious need of an all-over waxing. In the last year or so the word carbon has become an increasingly weighty element, and is being linked to every aspect of our modern lifestyles…