• Faux photosynthesis
  "Greg Van Patten may be the only materials scientist who claims chlorophyll as his muse. A bioscience researcher at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Van Patten is developing films that could be used to coat roofing tiles.Dyes in the film would imitate photosynthesis, collecting energy from the sun and converting it to electricity. On a clear day, the sun transmits about a kilowatt of power per square meter. While plants use that energy to convert water and CO2 into food, Van Patten's tiles can use the energy to power your VCR or Mr. Coffee - and we're talking about hours of video and many pots of coffee. Traditional semiconductor solar cells collect only a limited portion of the light spectrum, but the Los Alamos tiles are treated with layers of films, each tinted with a dye designed to absorb a particular wavelength of light. A stack of different-colored layers can soak up many wavelengths of light." From a Wired article Small Parts: A users' guide to out-of-the-box living.
• "The oceans cover over 70% of the Earth's surface. Just from the sheer coverage and volume, the phytoplankton environment can be thought of as the world's most expansive jungle. Its affect on the Earth's life, climate, and geology is significant. Being at the bottom of the pelagic food-chain, it is literally the source of most oceanic life. Through photosynthesis, it may affect the Earth's climate by absorbing a significant portion of the world's carbon dioxide. When phytoplankton die, if their carbon is not consumed by other living creatures first, it settles on the ocean bottom and eventually is locked-up in sedimentary rock. This rock can reenter the Earth's crust from which it may be eventually emitted back into the atmosphere again through volcanism; part of the process known as the carbon cycle, which affects long-term global change. " From: MODIS OPP/SCF: Overview, NASA scientists that are studying phytoplankton.
• "An average hectare of corn produces enough oxygen per hectare per day in mid summer to meet the respiratory needs of about 325 people. This means that the one million or so hectares of corn grown in Ontario produce enough oxygen for the annual respiratory needs of Ontario's 10 million residents in about 11 summer days!" From: Corn and Photosynthesis
• "It is hard to see under the sea-particularly if you are 120 meters down, lying beneath a thick covering of ice during the endless nights of the Antarctic winter. Yet even in this deep night, hoards of tiny algae live inside sponges, soaking up carbon dioxide and, in turn, producing nutrients for their hosts. The mystery has been where these minute green plants get the light they need to drive photosynthesis." From: Scientific American: Science and the Citizen (February, 1997)
• "Besides its role in catalyzing plant growth, Rubisco has two traits that invite--and defy--analysis. While most enzymes catalyze only one reaction, Rubisco triggers two. One is carbon fixation, the basis of photosynthesis, which enables plants to make food. The other--and here's the rub--is a competing, oxygen-fixation reaction that actually undoes photosynthesis. Picture a nozzle pumping gasoline into your car, and inside, a smaller siphon removing gas at the same time." From: Life Sciences - Staff of Life
• "Scientists have recently discovered microorganisms living within igneous formations -- extremely hard rock lacking organic nutrients. The industrious residents of these rocks fashion their own organic molecules out of the barest of inorganic materials.
  Relying only on hydrogen, water, and carbon dioxide -- all of which are products of Earth's interior --these microbes are unique among the vast array of living species. All other organisms depend to some extent on the sun's energy, which is harnessed through photosynthesis and creates food for surface life. Even organisms living near seafloor vents rely indirectly on the oxygen supplied by photosynthesis, says Todd O. Stevens of Battelle." From: Deep Dwellers: Microbes Thrive Far Below Ground (Science News, 151: 192-193--not all life needs photosynthesis, but the exceptions are pretty amazing!

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