When sunlight strikes a photosynthesizing organism, energy flashes between proteins just beneath its surface until it is trapped as separated electric charges. Improbable as it may seem these tiny hits of energy eventually power the growth and movement of all plants and animals. They are literally the sparks of life. The three clumps of protein – a light-harvesting antenna called a phycobilisome and photosystems I and II – look like random scrawls in illustrations but this is misleading. They are able to do their job only because they are positioned with exquisite precision. If the distances between proteins were too… Login to continue

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