Shedding light on chemistry with a biological twist
(Phys.org) —Many of life's processes rely on light to trigger a chemical change. Photosynthesis, vision, the movement of light-seeking or light-avoiding bacteria, for instance, all exploit photochemistry. Discovering exactly how living things absorb and convert light energy into a form that can change the molecules involved in such processes would not only help scientists understand them but could lead to ways to mimic such processes for more efficient solar energy conversion, for instance. A clearer understanding of how light can drive biological processes has emerged from x-ray diffraction studies carried out on beamlines at the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science's Advanced Photon Source (APS) at Argonne, and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF). This work will help science shed a brighter light on some of life's most critical processes.