![]() The aphids are among the very few animals that can make these pigments for themselves, using genes that they stole from fungi. ![]() Last month, Alain Robichon at the Sophia Agrobiotech Institute in France reported that the aphids use pigments called carotenoids to harvest the sun’s energy and make ATP, a molecule that acts as a store of chemical energy. The latest potential deviant is the pea aphid, a foe to farmers and a friend to geneticists. Could humans ever do something similar? Could our bodies ever be altered to feed off the Sun’s energy in the same way as a plant?Īs a rule, animals cannot photosynthesise, but all rules have exceptions. ![]() They harness sunlight to drive the chemical reactions in their bodies that produce sugars. Plants, algae and many species of bacteria can make their own sustenance through the process of photosynthesis. Humans have to grow, hunt, and gather food, but many living things aren’t so constrained.
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