Photosynthesis: Fast Flora Facts

Researchers have uncovered a bacteria that uses stolen technology.

• The bacterium stole photosynthesis-related genes from a different bacteria
• This bacteria now has a central reaction center, an inner sunlight-capturing ring, but it also has a new type of outer ring
• This study shows that this species independently evolved its own solar-energy trapping technology

Would chlorophyll's green pigment still be the best? or would plants be a different color?

New research published uses numerical models of chemistry and physics of photosynthesis to find the optimal wavelengths of light.

The earth's surface is covered with green plants and bacteria, which absorb a lot of red light and reflect a lot of visible and infrared light from the sun.

This leads to this really cool feature of life on earth: the red edge.

• satellites around earth use this to trace vegetation growth
• astrobiologists may be able to look for this feature to find a sign of life

It might be blue, or not even visible light.

The researchers' goal was to figure out where future telescopes should look for a red edge, or whatever color it is.

These findings could help scientists find vegetation on other planets in the next few decades.