  We show that the synthesis of carbon and oxygen through the triple-alpha
process in red giant stars is extremely sensitive to the fine details of the
nucleon-nucleon (N-N) interaction. A +/-0.5% change in the strength of the N-N
force would reduce either the carbon or oxygen abundance by as much as a factor
of 30-1000. This result may be used to constrain some fundamental parameters of
the Standard Model.
