The origin of photosynthesis
The first cells fed on organic substances in the primordial soup as its concentration gradually diminished. It is likely that the scarcity of energy resources imposed a selection. Some cells acquired the ability to feed on others, while other cells developed the ability to synthesize new organic substances by using energy from oxidation. Even today there still are prokaryotes (cells that don’t have an actual nucleus but a nuclear “equivalent”) that draw energy in this way to live, they are the so called chemosynthetic bacteria. Other cells instead could exploit energy from light to transform water and obtain the hydrogen necessary for photosynthesis (a reaction that can transform simple inorganic substances into organic ones such as carbohydrates thanks to the energy given by light). Living organisms that are able to perform photosynthesis however released simple oxygen which, thanks to its high affinity with organic substances, must have killed most primitive cell forms. Only those cells that could handle the increasing oxygen concentration survived. Subsequently some prokaryotes learned to use free oxygen as an oxidant for energy production. This is how respiration appeared bringing with it the great advantage of being a more efficient energy stocking method than fermentation and guaranteeing survival in the oxygen rich atmosphere.
Special reports
-
2 July 2014
A hoax? No thank you, I prefer to find out myself!
In Italian, bufala: a hoax, also means a female buffalo...
10 April 2020
What language does science speak?
Do you remember the game called “Chinese whispers”? All the participants had to stand in line and the game started…
22 May 2020
What language does science speak? 2nd part
There is an old proverb that says “the apple does not fall far from the tree ”. Apparently it seems…
-
8 March 2022
8 March. We remember Rosalind Franklin, the great female DNA scientist.
DNA was first isolated by Friedrich Miescher, a Swiss biochemist in 1869. It was a brilliant, but not complicated operation:…
27 February 2022
In search of the riders of icebergs
International Polar Bear Day, set up by Polar Bears International, a non-profit organisation, was held on 27 February. The aim…
12 February 2022
A naturalist’s voyage around the world
Charles Darwin was just 22 years old when he set sail on board HMS Beagle...
-
18 December 2021
The Christmas Star Tradition
Let's discover together stories and legends about the Christmas Star...
15 September 2021
Can you be intelligent without a brain?
Can you be intelligent without a brain? The answer is "in a certain sense, yes" and this is demonstrated by…
26 July 2021
Japanese beetles and other alien species
There is a beetle that has been invading the Italian countryside and cities for some time now, a small insect…
-
2 July 2014
A hoax? No thank you, I prefer to find out myself!
In Italian, bufala: a hoax, also means a female buffalo...
10 April 2020
What language does science speak?
Do you remember the game called “Chinese whispers”? All the participants had to stand in line and the game started…
-
22 May 2020
What language does science speak? 2nd part
There is an old proverb that says “the apple does not fall far from the tree ”. Apparently it seems…
8 March 2022
8 March. We remember Rosalind Franklin, the great female DNA scientist.
DNA was first isolated by Friedrich Miescher, a Swiss biochemist in 1869. It was a brilliant, but not complicated operation:…
-
27 February 2022
In search of the riders of icebergs
International Polar Bear Day, set up by Polar Bears International, a non-profit organisation, was held on 27 February. The aim…
12 February 2022
A naturalist’s voyage around the world
Charles Darwin was just 22 years old when he set sail on board HMS Beagle...
-
2 July 2014
A hoax? No thank you, I prefer to find out myself!
In Italian, bufala: a hoax, also means a female buffalo...
-
10 April 2020
What language does science speak?
Do you remember the game called “Chinese whispers”? All the participants had to stand in line and the game started…
-
22 May 2020
What language does science speak? 2nd part
There is an old proverb that says “the apple does not fall far from the tree ”. Apparently it seems…
From the Multimedia section
Facts
-
Life from space
According to some scientists life has always existed in the Universe just like the Universe...
-
Bio-luminescence
Many sea animals, including a lot of fish and molluscs that live in the dark in the ocean depths...
Down-pouring bacteria
It sounds incredible, but recent researches have found that bacteria can cause some atmospheric phenomena...
-
Bacteria as Sherlock Holmes
A drop of blood, a fragment of skin or a hair found on the scene of a crime can supply…
-
13 May 2011
Life from space
According to some scientists life has always existed in the Universe just like the Universe...
-
13 May 2011
Bio-luminescence
Many sea animals, including a lot of fish and molluscs that live in the dark in the ocean depths...
-
Down-pouring bacteria
It sounds incredible, but recent researches have found that bacteria can cause some atmospheric phenomena...
-
Life from space
According to some scientists life has always existed in the Universe just like the Universe...