techPowerUp! Forums

Go Back   techPowerUp! Forums > Other > Science & Technology

Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old Aug 20, 2012, 11:18 PM   #1
micropage7
3500 Posts
 
micropage7's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Jakarta, Indonesia
Posts: 3,674 (3.18/day)
Thanks: 190
Thanked 835 Times in 549 Posts

System Specs

Tiny Green Bug May Be First Photosynthetic Animal


Pea aphids may have an unprecedented ability to harvest sunlight, and use the energy for metabolic purposes. It would make it the only species of animal known to have photosynthesis-like powers.

It comes down to carotenoids, which are a type of pigment used in animals for crucial functions like vision, bone growth and vitamin production. All known animals obtain these by eating the plants, algae and fungi that naturally synthesize the orange-red compounds.
Back in 2010, University of Arizona biologists researcher Nancy Moran and Tyler Jarvik discovered that pea aphids can make their own carotenoids, like a plant. “What happened is a fungal gene got into an aphid and was copied,”said Moran in a press release.


Entomologist Alain Robichon, of the Sophia Agrobiotech Institute in France, wanted to find out why the insects make such metabolically expensive chemicals.

Carotenoids are responsible for aphid body color, and the researchers found that insects changed color depending on environmental conditions. In optimal environments, aphids make a medium amount of carotenoids and come out orange. In the cold, the insects have a high level of carotenoids and are green. In areas with limited resources, aphids are almost devoid of the pigment and are born white.

The team then measured the aphids’ levels of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) — a way to measure energy transfer in living organisms — and received striking results. Green aphids make significantly more ATP than white ones, and orange aphids made more ATP while exposed to sunlight than when kept in the dark.

The researchers also crushed the orange aphids and purified their carotenoids, to demonstrate that it was these extracts that could absorb light and pass this energy on. This all suggests that the synthesized pigments may contribute to a system of photo-induced electron transfer, where the aphids can harness energy from the sunlight.

The team warns that more research will be needed before we can be sure that aphids truly have photosynthesis-like abilities. The researchers also speculate that the ability might be used as a back-up, during times of environmental stress
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/20...hotosynthesis/
__________________
:: New Cases, Tips And All About Your Cases Visit CaseGear ::

Don't Ever Ask About Love And Honesty That You Don't Ever Have
micropage7 is offline  
Reply With Quote
The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to micropage7 For This Useful Post:
Old Aug 20, 2012, 11:31 PM   #2
FordGT90Concept
"I go fast!1!11!1!"
 
FordGT90Concept's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: IA, USA
Posts: 10,583 (6.28/day)
Thanks: 1,755
Thanked 2,600 Times in 1,962 Posts

System Specs

I wonder where they live. Aphids are a serious problem in the midwest of the USA.
__________________
Golden Rule of Programming: Never assume.

try { SteamDownload(); }
catch (Steamception ex) { RageQuit(); }
FordGT90Concept is offline  
Crunching for Team TPU
Reply With Quote
Old Aug 21, 2012, 01:19 AM   #3
Wrigleyvillain
3500 Posts
 
Wrigleyvillain's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Chicago
Posts: 4,507 (2.20/day)
Thanks: 1,527
Thanked 1,579 Times in 1,122 Posts

System Specs

"Problem" is subjective. The aphids were there long before the cornfields.
__________________
“i dont care what consoles have they dont have mouse and keyboard” -crazyeyesreaper
Wrigleyvillain is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old Aug 21, 2012, 01:26 AM   #4
ShiBDiB
2000 Posts
 
ShiBDiB's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Clifton Park, NY
Posts: 3,131 (1.77/day)
Thanks: 98
Thanked 612 Times in 459 Posts
Send a message via AIM to ShiBDiB

System Specs

Quote:
Originally Posted by Wrigleyvillain View Post
"Problem" is subjective. The aphids were there long before the cornfields.
And the cornfields feed u... so.. no
__________________
ShiBDiB is offline  
Reply With Quote
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to ShiBDiB For This Useful Post:
Old Aug 21, 2012, 01:51 AM   #5
OnePostWonder
200 Posts
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 486 (0.30/day)
Thanks: 61
Thanked 90 Times in 71 Posts

System Specs

Quote:
Originally Posted by ShiBDiB View Post
And the cornfields feed u... so.. no
Though corn contains no nutritional benefit. One wonders why we consume it...*ponders*...

Short story: I once had a pure can sugar Pepsi from Thailand. The reason pure can sugar isn't used more often is because it isn't nearly as abundant as corn syrup is. I'm sure the way corn is subsidized doesn't help much either.

Pretty interesting post OP. Good find.
OnePostWonder is offline  
Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to OnePostWonder For This Useful Post:
Old Aug 21, 2012, 02:18 AM   #6
Mussels
Doctor Moderator
 
Mussels's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Bendigo, Australia (NOT THE USA)
Posts: 34,561 (10.96/day)
Thanks: 3,700
Thanked 8,697 Times in 6,394 Posts

System Specs

inb4 gene therapy dieting fad where people survive off sunlight alone (and turn transparent)
Mussels is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old Aug 21, 2012, 02:20 AM   #7
FordGT90Concept
"I go fast!1!11!1!"
 
FordGT90Concept's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: IA, USA
Posts: 10,583 (6.28/day)
Thanks: 1,755
Thanked 2,600 Times in 1,962 Posts

System Specs

Quote:
Originally Posted by OnePostWonder View Post
Though corn contains no nutritional benefit. One wonders why we consume it...*ponders*...

Short story: I once had a pure can sugar Pepsi from Thailand. The reason pure can sugar isn't used more often is because it isn't nearly as abundant as corn syrup is. I'm sure the way corn is subsidized doesn't help much either.

Pretty interesting post OP. Good find.
Most people prefer the taste of HFCS over sugar. Sugar is also more expensive (usually).
__________________
Golden Rule of Programming: Never assume.

try { SteamDownload(); }
catch (Steamception ex) { RageQuit(); }
FordGT90Concept is offline  
Crunching for Team TPU
Reply With Quote
Old Aug 21, 2012, 02:23 AM   #8
OnePostWonder
200 Posts
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 486 (0.30/day)
Thanks: 61
Thanked 90 Times in 71 Posts

System Specs

Quote:
Originally Posted by FordGT90Concept View Post
Most people prefer the taste of HFCS over sugar. Sugar is also more expensive (usually).
Need sauce on first sentence. For science.

Serious.
OnePostWonder is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old Aug 21, 2012, 02:52 AM   #9
sneekypeet
Unpaid Babysitter
 
sneekypeet's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 19,022 (7.31/day)
Thanks: 3,039
Thanked 5,488 Times in 3,951 Posts

System Specs

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mussels View Post
inb4 gene therapy dieting fad where people survive off sunlight alone (and turn transparent)
Have you seen many PC users? most are already pale enough to get sunlight straight through
__________________
Hers: ASUS Maximus V Gene / i7 3770K / Swiftech H220 / 4X8GB Corsair Dominators / ASUS GTX660 / Corsair AX-760 / Windows 7 64bit / Fractal Design ARC Midi R2

Test: Gigabyte Z68X-UD4-B3 / i7 2600K / A lot Of Coolers / Ripjaws Currently / HIS HD7950 IceQ Turbo / Silverstone SST-ST85F-G / Windows 7 64bit / InWin D-Frame Limited Edition
sneekypeet is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old Aug 21, 2012, 03:06 AM   #10
Mussels
Doctor Moderator
 
Mussels's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Bendigo, Australia (NOT THE USA)
Posts: 34,561 (10.96/day)
Thanks: 3,700
Thanked 8,697 Times in 6,394 Posts

System Specs

Quote:
Originally Posted by sneekypeet View Post
Have you seen many PC users? most are already pale enough to get sunlight straight through
they'd starve to death, no sunlight in nerdville.
Mussels is offline  
Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to Mussels For This Useful Post:
Old Aug 21, 2012, 03:25 AM   #11
Norton
WCG Team Assistant
 
Norton's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Northeast, USA
Posts: 5,185 (9.94/day)
Thanks: 5,430
Thanked 10,180 Times in 3,199 Posts

System Specs

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mussels View Post
they'd starve to death, no sunlight in nerdville.
Isn't sunlight available as DLC?
__________________
Why sit on the Bench when you can get in the game and Crunch!!!- World Community Grid (FTW)
CPU crunchers- FX-8350(4.4)/FX-8150(4.0)/FX-6200(4.0)/ PII 1045T/PII 1045T/i7-920/Xeon (6c/12t)....(44 cores/54 threads)
GPU crunchers- no WCG GPU work available
Folding@Home- 2x GTX 580's

WCG-TPU Team thread- crunch for our Team/see what we do...
Norton is online now  
Crunching for Team TPU More than 25k PPD
Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to Norton For This Useful Post:
Old Aug 21, 2012, 03:49 AM   #12
james888
2000 Posts
 
james888's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Idaho
Posts: 2,288 (3.28/day)
Thanks: 457
Thanked 431 Times in 321 Posts

System Specs

This is cool stuff. I find it interesting how they got the gene from a mold.
__________________
My Heat
Natural Selection 2 (NS2) - FPS/RTS with depth. Link.
Studios and publishers seem to have forgotten that games are supposed to be games, not CG films with playable action scenes. Link.
james888 is offline  
Crunching for Team TPU
Reply With Quote
Old Aug 21, 2012, 04:11 AM   #13
garyinhere
1000 Posts
 
garyinhere's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: I'm roomates with Corey Feldman
Posts: 1,254 (1.03/day)
Thanks: 926
Thanked 785 Times in 446 Posts
Send a message via MSN to garyinhere Send a message via Yahoo to garyinhere

System Specs

Quote:
Originally Posted by sneekypeet View Post
Have you seen many PC users? most are already pale enough to get sunlight straight through
Really?
__________________
"We can do no great things, only small things with great love" ~Mother Theresa
“I was offered pay and turned it down, so I can always claim I won't be bought.” -cadaveca
“If AMD wants me to do a FX review, they need to send me a chip. I don't exactly work for free.” -cadaveca
garyinhere is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old Aug 21, 2012, 04:22 AM   #14
entropy13
2000 Posts
 
entropy13's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Philippines
Posts: 3,425 (2.22/day)
Thanks: 42
Thanked 1,133 Times in 714 Posts

System Specs

Quote:
Originally Posted by sneekypeet View Post
Have you seen many PC users? most are already pale enough to get sunlight straight through
*Looks at myself*

Nope, still dark brown.
__________________
MSI P67A-GD65 (B3), Intel Core i5 2500K, Corsair H60, 2x MSI GTX 570 Twin Frozr II/OC, G.Skill RipjawsX (2x4GB) DDR3-1600 RAM, OCZ Agility 3 120GB + 2TB, Corsair AX1200, Corsair Carbide 400R

MSI Z68MA-ED55, i5 2500K, Noctua NH-U9B SE2, Inno3D GTX 570, Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB, OCZ Agility 3 120GB + 1TB, Seasonic X660, Lian Li PC-V600FB

The Big Useful List of Free Useful Programs To Use Usually For Free
entropy13 is online now  
Reply With Quote
Old Aug 21, 2012, 05:16 AM   #15
Frick
Fishfaced Nincompoop
 
Frick's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Sweden
Posts: 7,901 (2.99/day)
Thanks: 1,076
Thanked 1,449 Times in 1,155 Posts

System Specs

Quote:
Originally Posted by entropy13 View Post
*Looks at myself*

Nope, still dark brown.
Then you're not a serious nerd.
__________________
Typemachine: Acer Aspire One D250 | Atom N280 1.6 Ghz | 1GB DDR2 | 160GB SATA | 10.1' 1024 x 600 | Lubuntu 12.10
Oldbox: HP D530 | Pentium 4 2.8 Ghz | 1GB DDR | 40GB | Windows XP
"The 'gentle biker' look is overdone. I'm going for 'psycho hillbilly.' "
Frick is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old Aug 21, 2012, 05:21 AM   #16
FordGT90Concept
"I go fast!1!11!1!"
 
FordGT90Concept's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: IA, USA
Posts: 10,583 (6.28/day)
Thanks: 1,755
Thanked 2,600 Times in 1,962 Posts

System Specs

Quote:
Originally Posted by OnePostWonder View Post
Need sauce on first sentence. For science.

Serious.
Mountain Dew vs Mounten Dew Throwback
Pepsi vs Pepsi Throwback

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...n_1327579.html
Quote:
Our team of editors recently conducted another taste test, this time between Pepsi (with HFCS) and Pepsi Throwback (with sugar). We fully expected Pepsi Throwback to come out on top, just like Mexican Coke. Surprisingly, we were wrong.

Twenty editors blind taste-tested the two colas, side by side, and found ...
•50 percent of our tasters could tell the difference between regular Pepsi and Pepsi Throwback.
•55 percent of our tasters preferred regular Pepsi to Pepsi Throwback.
American taste buds have adapted to the flavor of HFCS in iconic food items. When we taste those products, we expect the HFCS flavor, not sugar. We don't like change.
__________________
Golden Rule of Programming: Never assume.

try { SteamDownload(); }
catch (Steamception ex) { RageQuit(); }

Last edited by FordGT90Concept; Aug 21, 2012 at 05:34 AM.
FordGT90Concept is offline  
Crunching for Team TPU
Reply With Quote
Old Aug 21, 2012, 06:24 AM   #17
james888
2000 Posts
 
james888's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Idaho
Posts: 2,288 (3.28/day)
Thanks: 457
Thanked 431 Times in 321 Posts

System Specs

Quote:
Originally Posted by FordGT90Concept View Post
Mountain Dew vs Mounten Dew Throwback
Pepsi vs Pepsi Throwback

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...n_1327579.html

American taste buds have adapted to the flavor of HFCS in iconic food items. When we taste those products, we expect the HFCS flavor, not sugar. We don't like change.
Interesting tangent you guys went onto in this thread. Well when in Rome... I prefer sugar over hfcs personally. Americans can switch back to sugar if they so wanted. Just needs a media blitz and celebrities to make it fashionable.
__________________
My Heat
Natural Selection 2 (NS2) - FPS/RTS with depth. Link.
Studios and publishers seem to have forgotten that games are supposed to be games, not CG films with playable action scenes. Link.
james888 is offline  
Crunching for Team TPU
Reply With Quote
Old Aug 21, 2012, 11:07 PM   #18
OnePostWonder
200 Posts
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 486 (0.30/day)
Thanks: 61
Thanked 90 Times in 71 Posts

System Specs

Quote:
Originally Posted by FordGT90Concept View Post
Mountain Dew vs Mounten Dew Throwback
Pepsi vs Pepsi Throwback

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...n_1327579.html

American taste buds have adapted to the flavor of HFCS in iconic food items. When we taste those products, we expect the HFCS flavor, not sugar. We don't like change.
Is the 55 percent that preferred HFCS of the 50 percent that could tell the difference? It would have to be if only 50 percent could tell the difference; you can't prefer one over the other if you can't tell the difference.

Also, the Pepsi Throwback used cane and beet sugar, but this article states that people prefer the taste of cane sugar over beet sugar:

San Francisco Chronicle

The Pepsi I tried was pure cane sugar. I'd be interested to see the study conducted again with the HFCS Pepsi against a pure cane sugar Pepsi.

Also, on the note of not liking change...lol, given the current President's candidacy rode on the back of "change".
OnePostWonder is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old Aug 21, 2012, 11:21 PM   #19
FordGT90Concept
"I go fast!1!11!1!"
 
FordGT90Concept's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: IA, USA
Posts: 10,583 (6.28/day)
Thanks: 1,755
Thanked 2,600 Times in 1,962 Posts

System Specs

10/20 thought they didn't taste the same
11/20 said they prefer HFCS

Try it yourself. They only did a sample size of 20.


People say they want "change" all the time (think of all the changes people want to Windows Vista/7/8) but when change actually happens (all three changed something major), people resent the fact it isn't the same. It's human nature and that played out in Obama's presidency too (once people saw what his flavor of "change" really was, they don't like it).
__________________
Golden Rule of Programming: Never assume.

try { SteamDownload(); }
catch (Steamception ex) { RageQuit(); }
FordGT90Concept is offline  
Crunching for Team TPU
Reply With Quote
Old Aug 21, 2012, 11:24 PM   #20
techtard
500 Posts
 
techtard's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 774 (0.57/day)
Thanks: 113
Thanked 173 Times in 126 Posts

System Specs

Aren't there also slugs that eat plankton and absorb the photosynthesis genes? I thought I read about that years ago.
techtard is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old Aug 21, 2012, 11:52 PM   #21
fritoking
500 Posts
 
fritoking's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: ohio
Posts: 584 (0.32/day)
Thanks: 28
Thanked 60 Times in 47 Posts
Send a message via AIM to fritoking Send a message via MSN to fritoking

System Specs

Quote:
Originally Posted by FordGT90Concept View Post
Mountain Dew vs Mounten Dew Throwback
Pepsi vs Pepsi Throwback

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...n_1327579.html

American taste buds have adapted to the flavor of HFCS in iconic food items. When we taste those products, we expect the HFCS flavor, not sugar. We don't like change.
i prefer the pepsi throwback hands down.....
fritoking is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old Aug 22, 2012, 02:08 AM   #22
Wrigleyvillain
3500 Posts
 
Wrigleyvillain's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Chicago
Posts: 4,507 (2.20/day)
Thanks: 1,527
Thanked 1,579 Times in 1,122 Posts

System Specs

Quote:
Originally Posted by FordGT90Concept View Post
Most people prefer the taste of HFCS over sugar.
Are you fucking kidding? Gee you're in Iowa...no shock there.
__________________
“i dont care what consoles have they dont have mouse and keyboard” -crazyeyesreaper
Wrigleyvillain is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old Aug 22, 2012, 02:24 AM   #23
OnePostWonder
200 Posts
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 486 (0.30/day)
Thanks: 61
Thanked 90 Times in 71 Posts

System Specs

Quote:
Originally Posted by FordGT90Concept View Post
10/20 thought they didn't taste the same
11/20 said they prefer HFCS

Try it yourself. They only did a sample size of 20.


People say they want "change" all the time (think of all the changes people want to Windows Vista/7/8) but when change actually happens (all three changed something major), people resent the fact it isn't the same. It's human nature and that played out in Obama's presidency too (once people saw what his flavor of "change" really was, they don't like it).
I know you didn't conduct the study, but that doesn't make any sense.

It's technically incorrect to say that 10/20 thought they tasted the same because the study says that number of people "could tell the difference". I read the study a couple times to make sure I hadn't missed anything (explicit or implied). To further ground this point, "Pepsi makes no such claim" as to them tasting the same (Pepsi and Pepsi Throwback). I'll gladly "Doh!" if you can point out where it said people thought they tasted the same.

Also, I really seem to be missing how 11/20 can prefer one over the other if only 10/20 could tell the difference...if you can't tell the difference, you can't prefer anything; that is to say, you're just flipping a mental coin.
OnePostWonder is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old Aug 22, 2012, 02:26 AM   #24
james888
2000 Posts
 
james888's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Idaho
Posts: 2,288 (3.28/day)
Thanks: 457
Thanked 431 Times in 321 Posts

System Specs

11+10=21
__________________
My Heat
Natural Selection 2 (NS2) - FPS/RTS with depth. Link.
Studios and publishers seem to have forgotten that games are supposed to be games, not CG films with playable action scenes. Link.
james888 is offline  
Crunching for Team TPU
Reply With Quote
Old Aug 22, 2012, 02:32 AM   #25
OnePostWonder
200 Posts
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 486 (0.30/day)
Thanks: 61
Thanked 90 Times in 71 Posts

System Specs

Quote:
Originally Posted by james888 View Post
11+10=21
Umm...yeah, I suppose it does.
OnePostWonder is offline  
Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to OnePostWonder For This Useful Post:
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Lian-Li First Knight Goes Green nickbaldwin86 Project Logs 3 Oct 18, 2011 04:18 AM
[Case Gallery] Lian-Li First Knight Goes Green nickbaldwin86 Case Mod Gallery 0 Oct 18, 2011 01:38 AM
TRENDnet First to Launch Embedded Green Wireless Technology btarunr News 0 Jan 5, 2011 07:41 AM
Samsung First to Begin Mass Producing 2 Gb Green DDR3 Using 30nm Class Technology btarunr News 3 Jul 24, 2010 11:37 PM
Intel May See Red in Q1, First Time in 87 Quarter FYs btarunr News 18 Jan 22, 2009 07:17 AM


All times are GMT. The time now is 01:23 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.6
Copyright ©2000 - 2013, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
no new posts