Topic: Cyborg leaf makes working solar power plant (Page 1 of 1)

We do indeed live in interesting times.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16132-cyborg-leaf-makes-new-solar-power-plant.html

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?Privatize the Profits - Socialize the Losses.? Randi Rhodes

Seriously, calling this a 'cyborg leaf' is just a misnomer. I mean, you don't call agar agar plates cyborg either, just because the contain one ingreedient won from a living being.

A leaf produces sugars. Not power. And needs way more machinery to keep running. (The whole photo system isn't too stable, and relies
on having a cell machinery to rebuild it continously). And: Is not energy efficient. Plants never were energy limited, so they never
evolved to higher efficiency than needed 'not to die of thermal heat'.

Oh well, a nice parlor trick to get funding, I guess.
Would be nice to see if they managed to keep not only the molecular structure of the chlorophyl, but the supermolecular structure of the
photosystem 1 (PS1) as well. You'd need electronmicroscopy and a lot of images for that...

so long,

->Tyberius Prime

Well i guess a bit of ddt and that experiment's done with.

___________________________________________________________________________
?Privatize the Profits - Socialize the Losses.? Randi Rhodes

you mean Dichloro-Diphenyl-Trichloroethane? What's got a pesticide to do with this?

Agent Orange.

He meant Agent Orange.



WebShaman | The keenest sorrow (and greatest truth) is to recognize ourselves as the sole cause of all our adversities.
- Sophocles

Just a sad attempt at humour TP. =)

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?Privatize the Profits - Socialize the Losses.? Randi Rhodes

So the imperialist dogs can destroy our energy source and our shade at the same time .

Hm. Solarpowered cars with that stuff would always be green, wouldn't they?

Am I getting this right, they grew a plant and used gold to take off the *green bits?

*Longer words.

no, they put the greeen bits on an artifical leaf made out of gold.