Photo by Vermont-USA Anna Strumillo

In a recent study, German scientists Joachim Reichert, Johannes Barth, Alexander Holleitner, and Itai Carmeli came up with a way to measure photocurrents of a single functionalized  photosynthetic protein system.

What does this mean exactly?

These proteins can be used like electron pumps that can trap energy from the light and use it to power certain nanoscale electrocal circuits.

These scientists studied Photosystem 1 and like plants use photosynthesis to take rays of light and convert them to energy, these proteins covert solar rays into chemical energy that can be used in much the same way.

This discovery is still in its early stages and if perfected can be life changing. If they can create this system on a larger scale, light would be much easier to trap and use as energy than todays solar panels. This discovery is very interesting because we need alternative sources of energy that can be used sooner rather than later. If we can perfect this method it can be very beneficial to this planet because it is not harmful to the environment.