Photosynthesis

[moutonoir 0]

Photosynthesis is the process by which plants and other photosynthetic organisms convert light energy into chemical energy. These organisms use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide and produce energy-rich sugars and oxygen. This process is important to us, as we consume oxygen, and they also reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Here are some interesting facts about photosynthesis:Plants need to photosynthesize to stay alive. One way to increase the photosynthesis of a plant is to give it more potassium. Potassium helps maintain healthy turgor in chloroplasts and other structures that support photosynthesis. When a plant doesn?t receive enough water, its rate of photosynthesis slows down, but potassium has an osmotic effect and helps cells maintain water.In C3 plants, photosynthetic efficiency is limited by the enzyme Rubisco. This enzyme is not very efficient, for it loses 20 to 50 percent of the carbon it fixes. A more efficient Rubisco has been found in red algae, however. Through plant breeding and molecular biology, C3 plants that can produce more products through photosynthesis can be made.The pigments chlorophyll and carotenoids are important for photosynthesis. Chlorophyll, a green pigment, is what converts light energy into chemical energy. Carotenoids protect chlorophyll from photo-oxidation, which are oxidation reactions caused by light. They are also photoreceptors which can absorb light energy and convert into a nervous response.Plant pigments play a role in nutrition as well. 40 carotenoids are vitamin A precursors and provide 80% of vitamin A to the world. Vitamin A is broken down into retinol when consumed, and a deficiency in vitamin A can lead to blindness. Carotenoids such as lycopene can also function as chemopreventers which help prevent cancer and cardiovascular disease. The properties of carotenoids which help protect plants during photosynthesis also protect humans from carcinogens and heart disease.

[dimumurray 0]

This topic reminds of something I have though about on occasion. With the advances in molecular biology will it ever be possible to interface between plant and animal based organisms in future? Imagine a human being exploring the far reaches of space to find habitable planets. It may be more efficient to have a kind of hybrid human that can switch between using plant-like processes (photo-sythesis) to derive energy and more 'traditional' ones. Maybe you would not even have to change the human but provide an organic interface that uses plant-like process to produce the resources we need and have it jack-in to or envelope its host. A symbiotic organism or some such.

Edited August 14, 2008 by dimumurray (see edit history)

[moutonoir 0]

If we could eventually do such a thing, it would reduce the need for other means of food. This could reduce the world hunger issue, but in countries such as the US where food is abound and obesity is a problem, people may not want to be able to photosynthesize. A symbiotic organism would be perfect; those who lived where food was scare could be given it so that they could survive, and those who needed to reduce their food intake would be able to continue without it.You could even extend this idea of creating photosynthesizing organisms to have benefits on the planet; if we could create such organisms, we could harness their abilities to help reduce excessive CO2 in the atmosphere. It could be made so that it was small and easy to store/care for, versus trees which reduce CO2 but are huge.With molecular biology advancing, it seems as though nearly anything will be possible in the future.

[csp4.0 1]

But the thing is... If we were to have photosynthesis... We would be green AND the fact that we couldn't wear any clothes or else it would not work...

[moutonoir 0]

It could be localized to certain areas of the skin that would be exposed to sun. We still are able to produce Vitamin D in the sun, even while wearing clothes.You're right about the green though...not sure how to get around that one...

[sylenzednuke 0]

Speaking of making Humans go through Photosynthesis, plants don't get all the required nutrients through photosynthesis alone and the nutritional as well as energy requirements are completely different in humans and plants.Chlorophyll in the epidermis of humans looks useful at first, but it's really tricky. How to deal with the color? The pigment Melanin gives us the color we have as well as the benefits that come with it. Would we be replacing it by Chlorophyll? 'cause that would be screwed up. We require the benefits of Melanin and not all are present in Chlorophyll, going by my knowledge, plants are susceptible to UV radiation too, probably more than we are. So now, that's not going to help us.And then, comes the transport system, how much would we need to mutate our internal transport system to deal with the energy? Almost all of the energy we get now is by oral intake and Vitamin D is synthesized in the bones and not in the skin.And then, would we need to modify the skin itself? 'cause replacing pigments is way too, Sci-Fi. What about activities like perspiration and what about hair follicles that are present in the dermis?

[moutonoir 0]

Vitamin D is important in bone formation, but it itself is synthesized in the skin (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_D%23Synm_.28form_3.29) unless taken orally from a vitamin or through food intake. But aside from that, I agree that chlorophyll should not replace melatonin; their functions are completely different and they don't make satisfactory substitutes for one another. I would imagine that chloroplasts would be added to the skin cells in some way, or placed alongside them, or something of that matter. It would need to be an addition, not a replacement. Hence, we would probably end up having a color that was a combination of normal skin tones and green. I have no idea how this would affect the cells themselves or how you might go about doing this...but perhaps it is possible.

[dimumurray 0]

Human integration of plant mechanisms seem somewhat unpalatable to most here. Though personally I wouldn't mind running around looking like the HULK . That being said how about pursuing the symbiote idea; having a living interface that uses photosynthesis to provide what we need but without having to change anything about the human physiology. I suppose we would have to look at examples of symbiotic relationships in the real world first...I guess the foremost question would be are there any such relationships between plant life and animals and to what extent are they interconnected.

[mbafactory 0]

Photosynthesis is the process by which plants and other photosynthetic organisms convert light energy into chemical energy. These organisms use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide and produce energy-rich sugars and oxygen. This process is important to us, as we consume oxygen, and they also reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Here are some interesting facts about photosynthesis:
Plants need to photosynthesize to stay alive. One way to increase the photosynthesis of a plant is to give it more potassium. Potassium helps maintain healthy turgor in chloroplasts and other structures that support photosynthesis. When a plant doesn't receive enough water, its rate of photosynthesis slows down, but potassium has an osmotic effect and helps cells maintain water.

In C3 plants, photosynthetic efficiency is limited by the enzyme Rubisco. This enzyme is not very efficient, for it loses 20 to 50 percent of the carbon it fixes. A more efficient Rubisco has been found in red algae, however. Through plant breeding and molecular biology, C3 plants that can produce more products through photosynthesis can be made.

The pigments chlorophyll and carotenoids are important for photosynthesis. Chlorophyll, a green pigment, is what converts light energy into chemical energy. Carotenoids protect chlorophyll from photo-oxidation, which are oxidation reactions caused by light. They are also photoreceptors which can absorb light energy and convert into a nervous response.

Plant pigments play a role in nutrition as well. 40 carotenoids are vitamin A precursors and provide 80% of vitamin A to the world. Vitamin A is broken down into retinol when consumed, and a deficiency in vitamin A can lead to blindness. Carotenoids such as lycopene can also function as chemopreventers which help prevent cancer and cardiovascular disease. The properties of carotenoids which help protect plants during photosynthesis also protect humans from carcinogens and heart disease.

Photosynthesis is what is responsible for our existance on this earth. So much of biological diversity would not have been possible if there were no plants, ultimately resulting in no life activity. Every one be it vegetarian or non-vegetarian, is directly or indirectly dependent on this process of photosynthesis for their lives.
All the nutritious forms of chemicals are actually the resultant of this basic form of energy generation in the plants. For human forms it is responsible for various functions which make us healthy and supply us energy.

[HDuffRules 0]

It could be localized to certain areas of the skin that would be exposed to sun. We still are able to produce Vitamin D in the sun, even while wearing clothes.
You're right about the green though...not sure how to get around that one...

so THIS is why all those little green aliens you see in the movies are green...


..XD sorry, couldn't help myself.

[novic_1223 0]

I can only see one main that you left out about photosynthesis. The one main point that i see left out is the fact that photosynthesis does not only occur during the day but also at night. This is called the dark reaction becasue it does not require any sunlight. This is when the water has already been split into a hydrogen atoms and an oxygen atom. Oxygen is a bi product of photolysis("light splitting") or in other words it is the waste material of the plant. This stage requires light so it is called the light reaction. During the dark stage the hydrogen and the Carbon Dioxide fuse to form Glucose. The product that you then get is your glucose which is C6H12O6 (six Carbon, twelve hydrogen, six Oxygen). factors that effect the rate of photosynthesis are amount of sunlight, amount of carbon dioxide, temperature and state of which the stomata is in.Now that you have glucose, you can mix it up with fructose(another sugar derived from honey) to make table sugar. fructose is used in the production of the sperm tail(frajela)i hope that this gives a better understanding of photosynthesis note: photosynthesis is a theory(educated guess); you cant actually see the atoms splitting.I am not sure how much more the other person knows that me but i was thought this this year.I am in third form(11th grade) and i take biology chemistry and physics.I hope this information helps.

[aloKNsh 0]

hey i am sorry to say but we know what is photosynthesis but if you can tell that how a human can do photosynthesis then it would be a great idea but i think that its impossible but then what can we do except trying and trying.Thank you very much