Bionic Plants From MIT Are Supercharged Energy Producers Of The Future
@abrakadabra
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Oct 25, 2024
Oct 25, 2024
1.6K
Plants are set to become way more useful than ever before, thanks to the research work done by MIT. It has now been brought to light that enhancing the energy production in plants is very much possible. By augmenting nanomaterials in plants, MIT researchers have come up with what are called "plant nanobionics" or bionic plants that can capture 30% more light energy and thus become super-charged energy producers. All this has been done by embedding carbon nanotubes in the chloroplast - the plant organ responsible for photosynthesis. Well, that's not it. By using a new kind of carbon nanotube, these bionic plants have been made to detect and monitor environmental pollutants such as the nitric oxide gas and even pesticides or fungal infections.
The researchers have a vision of developing plants that can act as self-powered, photonic devices which will find applications in detectors for explosives or chemical weapons. By nature, plants are environmentally stable and have their own power source. Therefore, the next step for the MIT research team is to incorporate electronic devices into these plants. And it goes without saying that the possibilities that this brings are indeed endless.
How does supercharged photosynthesis work?
The researchers have a vision of developing plants that can act as self-powered, photonic devices which will find applications in detectors for explosives or chemical weapons. By nature, plants are environmentally stable and have their own power source. Therefore, the next step for the MIT research team is to incorporate electronic devices into these plants. And it goes without saying that the possibilities that this brings are indeed endless.
The two-step process of photosynthesis involves - the plant's chlorophyll absorbing light, which excites electrons that flow through the thylakoid membranes of the chloroplast. By capturing this electrical energy, the plant powers the second step, which is building sugars. Even if they are removed from the plants, the chloroplasts keep performing these reactions, but only for a few hours. After that, they break down due to the damage done to photosynthetic proteins by light and oxygen. In order to have prolonged productivity in the chloroplasts, the researchers embedded them with cerium oxide nanoparticles using a new technique called lipid exchange envelope penetration, or LEEP. The results showed that the levels of damaging molecules in the plants dropped dramatically.
The research goes out to say a lot about how coupling nanotechnology with synthetic biology can modify and enhance the functions of living organisms. What do you have to say about that? Share with us in comments below.
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The research goes out to say a lot about how coupling nanotechnology with synthetic biology can modify and enhance the functions of living organisms. What do you have to say about that? Share with us in comments below.
Source: #-Link-Snipped-#
