Photographing the movement of atoms during photosynthesis

Researchers from the University of Gothenburg (Gothenburg) in Sweden succeeded, with the help of an advanced X-ray flash, in photographing the movement of atoms during photosynthesis - an achievement published in the prestigious journal Science.

The European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) located in the city of Grenoble (Grenoble) in France houses the most advanced particle accelerators in the world, whose X-ray beam streams are used by researchers to "photograph" and examine the smallest components of life: atoms, molecules and proteins.

With the help of a special X-ray camera, researchers are able to locate the exact position of atoms in an examined particle and obtain a three-dimensional image of extremely tiny objects.

Researchers from the Department of Chemistry at the University of Gothenburg have now used this advanced technology to image the dynamics of life's most fundamental system: photosynthesis.

The focus of the research was a protein essential for the conversion of light into chemical energy during photosynthesis, a protein that researchers study daily - a movement that occurs on a scale of less than a nanometer.

The photograph is not only a fascinating image of a major life mechanism, but could also be used for the development of future solar panels, with the help of which the researchers hope to imitate the sophisticated energy conversion mechanism of the photosynthesis process.

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