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Bacterial semiconductors, is this how photosynthesis started ?

Capt'n Midnight · 2017-08-22 17:43:48

Also on Biology http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057778513 So much :eek: For me the epic bit is that IMHO this might be a way life started harvesting energy. A semiconductor crystal exposed to light would have a potential across it and if this could be expressed across a membrane you now have a way to…

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22-08-2017 6:43pm

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Capt'n Midnight

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Also on Biology http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057778513

So much :eek:

For me the epic bit is that IMHO this might be a way life started harvesting energy. A semiconductor crystal exposed to light would have a potential across it and if this could be expressed across a membrane you now have a way to recharge your ATP without needing respiration.

Far fetched but potentially a protocell could become a little powerhouse able to drive some chemical reactions without needing a full biochemical pathway in place.

Potential fossil evidence too with the crystals. Not to mention the DNA

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-40975719

After combing through old microbiology literature, researchers realised that some bugs have a natural defence to cadmium, mercury or lead that lets them turn the heavy metal into a sulphide which the bacteria express as a tiny, crystal semiconductor on their surfaces.

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