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When the Earth Was Purple

Posted by kdawson on from the how-violet-was-my-valley dept.

Ollabelle writes "It's always been a bit of a mystery why plants absorb red and blue light, reflecting green, when the sun emits the peak energy of the visible spectrum in the green. A new theory offers one possible answer: that the first chlorophyll-utilizing microbes evolved to exploit the red-and-blue light that older green-absorbing microbes didn't use, eventually out-competing them through greater efficiency and the rise of oxygen."

5 of 278 comments (clear)

  1. Green is the new Purple by emj · · Score: 4, Funny

    Green is the new purple, completly off topic but a scary resemblance.

  2. Re:Old news by Opportunist · · Score: 3, Funny

    And all that was purple eventually died out...

    Reaffirms my faith that there's still hope for childrens' TV.

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    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  3. Re:Plants on other planets by Dogtanian · · Score: 4, Funny

    Sci-fi is a bit broader than just Star Trek Of course; it's stupid to base your ideas on one TV show. I'm basing my search for extraterrestrial life on old-school Doctor Who; one of our tests detects the presence of Bubble wrap which we believe is likely to make up the skin of a large number of scary alien monsters.
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  4. Re:Plants on other planets by emj · · Score: 4, Funny

    I think that the only thing to look for is patterns which we don't believe could occur in nature
    Like life?
  5. Drazi Plants by aapold · · Score: 4, Funny

    All the plants were split into two camps, Green! and Purple! They fought until there was only one kind left.

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    "Waste not one watt!" - CZ