An incredible study published in the prestigious journal Nature conducted by the University of California tries to answer one of the most significant and recurring questions that have ever been asked since humanity has existed.
It’s official: a single photon was enough (those tiny particles that make up light) to trigger life on Earth. Perhaps the place with the most sunlight will now be re-evaluated, but all of this, however incredible it may seem, is perfectly logical considering that thanks to photons the process of photosynthesis is started, i.e. those chemical processes that represent the very basis of life itself.
Researchers they specifically used a photosynthetic bacterium, which could also represent the common evolutionary ancestor of plants, further extending the importance of this discovery. Naturally, the challenges proved to be far from simple to face.
To design an experiment that could “show” individual photons, it was indeed necessary to bring together researchers with very different skillswhich ranged for example from quantum physics to biology, passing through biochemistry.
“It was a new experience for those who study photosynthesis, because normally all these tools are not used, but it was also a novelty for those involved in quantum physicsbecause they don’t usually apply these techniques to complex biological systems”says Birgitta Whaley, co-author of the study.
After having discovered that on Earth days have not always been 24 hours long, here is yet another curiosity capable of better explain how everything around was born.
“A huge amount of work, both theoretical and experimental, has been done around the world trying to understand what happens after a photon has been absorbed. But to date no one has dealt with the initial switchi.e. whether a single photon is enough to start the whole process”comments Graham Fleming, one of the authors of the study.