(http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/05/u-georgia-plant-energy.jpg) (http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/11/university-of-georgia-stops-plant-photosynthesis-for-power/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget)
There's a more efficient way to harvest energy from the backyard than by wiring up hapless (http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/14/cyber-snail/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget) critters (http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/01/darpa-harvests-energy-from-cyborg-beetles-to-keep-them-brainwash/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget). Researchers at the University of Georgia (http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/09/chemical-senors-could-detect-plants-cries-for-help/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget) have proof: they've discovered a way to generate electricity from plants through hijacking the photosynthesis process. By altering the proteins inside a plant cell's thylakoids, which store solar energy, scientists can intercept electrons through a carbon nanotube backing that draws them away before they're used to make sugar (http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/05/virginia-tech-finds-a-way-to-get-hydrogen-from-any-plant/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget). While the resulting power isn't phenomenal, it's still two orders of magnitude better than previous methods, according to the university. The protein modification method may have a rosier future, as well: the team believes that it could eventually compete with solar cells, producing green energy in a very literal sense.
Filed under: Science (http://www.engadget.com/category/science/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget), Alt (http://www.engadget.com/category/alt/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget)
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Via: Gizmag (http://www.gizmag.com/capturing-plant-photosynthesis-energy/27458/)
Source: RSC Publishing (http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2013/ee/c3ee40634b), University of Georgia (http://news.uga.edu/releases/article/power-plants-uga-researchers-explore-how-to-harvest-electricity-direct/)
Via: Engadget