B
[email protected]
- Jan 1, 1970
- 0
I've always thought, that were it possible for biology to harness
ionizing radiation for energy, some organism would already have done
so. We'd just have to find it. For example we already know about the
D. Radiodurans bacteria which survives immense gamma-ray doses, but
doesn't harvest the photons as far as anyone knows. The Earth
contains vast fungal and bacterial communities subject to billions of
years of evolutionary forces, and also contains "light sources" in the
form of uranium ore deposits.
Well, it looks like my suspicions were correct:
Inside the Chernobyl reactor: fungus feeds on radiation
http://www.wtnrradio.com/news/story.php?story=262
But there's more... Apparently the fungus uses an unsuspected
photosynthetic molecule: melanin. It's not green like light-loving
plants, instead it's brown and eats gamma rays. This is new, so the
details are yet unknown.
What other organism deals with hard radiation and employs the melanin
molecule? People?
Expose caucasian skin to ionizing radiation (hard UV sunlight) and it
ramps up melanin production. Melanin absorbs UV and acts as a
shield. "Getting a sun tan." Or be of non-European ancestry and
you're already shielded.
But wait a minute. What if human skin was bright green. Would you
think to yourself "ah, our skin contains a dye molecule which shields
against visible light?" Or instead would you think "ah, our skin
contains an energy-harvesting molecule which employs visible light to
synthesize it's own fuel?"
In other words... if I have a dark tan, and I go sit in summer
sunlight without eating, will avoid starvation longer than if I stayed
indoors without eating? Maybe vitamin-D isn't the only thing made by
human skin in sunlight.
Just out of curiousity, I wonder if human melanin production responds
to ALL ionizing radiation? If I stick my hand under a high-power
gamma ray source for a few minutes per day, will I receive a nice dark
tan? (I'd be sure to start slowly so I don't get a bone-deep sunburn
at the start.)
And just how effective is melanin as a shielding material for high
energy photons? (When compared to equal mass of, say, metallic lead?)
((((((((((((((((((((((( ( ( (o) ) ) )))))))))))))))))))))))
William J. Beaty Research Engineer
beaty a chem washington edu UW Chem Dept, Bagley Hall RM74
billb a eskimo com Box 351700, Seattle, WA 98195-1700
ph425-222-5066 http://staff.washington.edu/wbeaty/
ionizing radiation for energy, some organism would already have done
so. We'd just have to find it. For example we already know about the
D. Radiodurans bacteria which survives immense gamma-ray doses, but
doesn't harvest the photons as far as anyone knows. The Earth
contains vast fungal and bacterial communities subject to billions of
years of evolutionary forces, and also contains "light sources" in the
form of uranium ore deposits.
Well, it looks like my suspicions were correct:
Inside the Chernobyl reactor: fungus feeds on radiation
http://www.wtnrradio.com/news/story.php?story=262
But there's more... Apparently the fungus uses an unsuspected
photosynthetic molecule: melanin. It's not green like light-loving
plants, instead it's brown and eats gamma rays. This is new, so the
details are yet unknown.
What other organism deals with hard radiation and employs the melanin
molecule? People?
Expose caucasian skin to ionizing radiation (hard UV sunlight) and it
ramps up melanin production. Melanin absorbs UV and acts as a
shield. "Getting a sun tan." Or be of non-European ancestry and
you're already shielded.
But wait a minute. What if human skin was bright green. Would you
think to yourself "ah, our skin contains a dye molecule which shields
against visible light?" Or instead would you think "ah, our skin
contains an energy-harvesting molecule which employs visible light to
synthesize it's own fuel?"
In other words... if I have a dark tan, and I go sit in summer
sunlight without eating, will avoid starvation longer than if I stayed
indoors without eating? Maybe vitamin-D isn't the only thing made by
human skin in sunlight.
Just out of curiousity, I wonder if human melanin production responds
to ALL ionizing radiation? If I stick my hand under a high-power
gamma ray source for a few minutes per day, will I receive a nice dark
tan? (I'd be sure to start slowly so I don't get a bone-deep sunburn
at the start.)
And just how effective is melanin as a shielding material for high
energy photons? (When compared to equal mass of, say, metallic lead?)
((((((((((((((((((((((( ( ( (o) ) ) )))))))))))))))))))))))
William J. Beaty Research Engineer
beaty a chem washington edu UW Chem Dept, Bagley Hall RM74
billb a eskimo com Box 351700, Seattle, WA 98195-1700
ph425-222-5066 http://staff.washington.edu/wbeaty/