An ASU scientist is part of a team of researchers from California and Korea that discovered a new technique that could help solve the world's energy crisis.
Robert Blankenship, professor and chair of chemistry and biochemistry at ASU, helped to find a way to further study photosynthesis, the process in which plants convert sunlight into energy.
"Photosynthesis is where we get all our food and energy for our lives, it's what produces all the oxygen we breath in the air," Blankenship said. "It is considered one of the most important biological systems on Earth."
Blankenship discovered the process proteins use in photosynthesis. Through his work at ASU he found the way to purify and isolate the protein so it can be studied.
His findings were coupled with the work of professors from the University of California-Berkeley and Korea University in Seoul.
Their results provided more information about the efficiency of the energy pathway in photosynthesis, and were published in the March 31 issue of the journal Nature.
The information could be applied to other systems, such as solar cells and artificial energy.
"Solar cells can lead to more energy independence," Blankenship said. "A big problem in the U.S. is, Where are we going to get energy? And what are the consequences of no renewable energy sources? Being able to collect the sun's energy will make us less subject to other governments."
Even with these developments, solar power and photosynthesis still have a long way to go before they can be used as an efficient source of energy, said Neal Woodbury, professor of chemistry and biochemistry and director of the Center for BioOptical Nanotechnology at the Biodesign Institute.
One of the biggest issues is developing a way to store solar energy for later use.
"We need to use the same idea [as nature] but apply it to our technology," Woodbury said. "We can't plug a toaster into a tree."
Reach the reporter at courtney.bonnell@asu.edu.
