Surprising Science — August 22, 2010

New Chlorophyll Uses Infrared Light

“A new kind of chlorophyll that catches sunlight from just beyond the red end of the visible light spectrum has been discovered.” The discovery could help advance bio-fuel research.

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“A new kind of chlorophyll that catches sunlight from just beyond the red end of the visible light spectrum has been discovered.” The discovery could help advance bio-fuel research. “The new pigment extends the known range of light that is usable by most photosynthetic organisms. Harnessing this pigment’s power could lead to biofuel-generating algae that are super-efficient, using a greater spread of sunlight than thought possible. ‘This is a very important new development, and is the first new type of chlorophyll discovered in an oxygenic organism in 60 years,’ says biological chemist Robert Blankenship of Washington University in St. Louis.”

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