This is the 2nd novel in the Giants series:
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25 million years ago, on a planet named Minerva (where the asteroid belt
is now), there was a race of giant humanoids known to humans as
Ganymedes (since scientists first discovered evidence of their existence
on the Jovian moon Ganymede). When the Ganymedes first evolved, they
had a poisonous secondary circulatory system which early Minervan
animals had developed to protect themselves from carnivores. As a
result, there were no carnivores on the land. This secondary system
made the Ganymedes very vulnerable to accidents. Even the slightest cut
would kill them be releasing the poison into their primary circulatory
systems. The Ganymedes figures out how to neutralize their secondary
systems, first by eating certain plants and molds, then via surgery,
then by eliminating the gene that creates that system. Unfortunately,
the Ganymedes eliminated their ability to tolerate high carbon dioxide
levels when they eliminated their secondary systems, so their geese were
cooked when CO2 levels started to soar.
PP 149-150 of paperback: Danchekker tells Hunt how the Ganymedes tried
to solve the CO2 problem. They considered holding down the CO2 level
through artificial means, but they feared that they would destroy
Minerva's greenhouse effect in the process, freezing the planet. They
worked out a way to heat up the Sun to compensate, but a test of that
method by the Ganymede ****p Shapieron on the star Iscaris blew up that
star. They considered moving to Earth, but didn't think they could
survive with Earth's predators, and couldn't stomach the idea of wiping
out Earth's life forms. Why didn't the Ganymedes deploy solar mirrors
in orbit for the purpose of heating up Minerva if the greenhouse effect
got destroyed?
In the end, its discovered that the Ganymedes im****ted terrestrial life
forms for experiments to see if the Ganymedes could incor****ate the
Terran CO2 tolerance method into their genomes, but the Ganymede
experiments made the terrestrial animals smarter and more aggressive (by
removing something called the "self immunization" system, in which the
animals introduce toxins into their systems to stimulate antibodies.
These toxins had inhibited the development of sentient brains. The
elimination of the self immunization system made it possible for humans
to evolve on Minerva, and later settle on Earth after they blew up
Minerva).
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