Seeing in the Dark and the Green: How Eyes and Leaves Share a Lighty Secret

The world of biology reveals surprising connections, and the human eye and a seemingly ordinary leaf share a fascinating one. Both organs rely on sophisticated light-sensing mechanisms to function effectively in their environments, despite their vastly different purposes.

Within the human eye, the retina houses two crucial photoreceptor cell types: rods and cones. Rods, responsible for low-light vision, utilize rhodopsin, a specialized protein, to capture even the faintest light signals. Cones, responsible for color vision, rely on various forms of iodopsin to differentiate colors in bright light conditions. Both rhodopsin and iodopsin function by undergoing a shape change upon encountering light, triggering a biochemical cascade that ultimately translates light energy into electrical signals the brain interprets as vision.

Plants exhibit a similar strategy. Nestled within their leaves lies phytochrome, a remarkable molecule that, like its counterparts in the eye, acts as a light receptor. Phytochrome exists in several states depending on the specific wavelengths of light it absorbs. By sensing variations in light intensity and spectrum, phytochrome provides the plant with vital information about its surrounding environment. This information plays a critical role in processes like photosynthesis, where plants utilize sunlight as an energy source, and regulates growth patterns based on light availability.

In both the eye and the plant, the photosensors function together with chromophores: retinal in the eye and phytochromobilin in the plant.

This unexpected parallel between the human eye and the leaf underscores a fundamental principle in biology – the ability to detect light is a powerful evolutionary advantage. By harnessing the power of light, both humans and plants gain the ability to navigate their environments, grow, and thrive.

Hello, where is the nectar?🥹 The dark arches (Apamea monoglypha) belongs to the family of owlet moths. It is a very common species in most parts of Europe and Central Asia. Its caterpillars like to nibble on the roots of grasses and the moth flies around all night, attracted by the sweet scent of flowers.🌸🌛 It orientates itself using natural light sources such as the moon, but artificial light sources interfere with its navigation, which is why it sometimes gets lost in homes.

It's my 37th birthday! 🥳

Those are my two favorite numbers. So this is now going to be my favorite year of my life.😎

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The picture shows me in the 90s in front of the entrance to our former house in Saxony. It was part of a former manor "Rittergut Schilbach". Surrounded by wet meadows, forests and abandoned buildings, I experienced different adventures every day. I had a dictaphone, which I used to record songs from the radio, a BMX, which I attached the dictaphone to and many "catch boxes" to catch and observe animals. I had something like a sixth sense and knew exactly which stones I had to lift. I reflexively reached into the deep grass and had a mouse in my hand. I dug a vole tunnel and a least weasel stared at me. I hugged trees and hoped that aliens would come and get me. I had three TV channels, very few friends but a Commodore 64. And lots of books. My parents rarely explained anything to me, but always challenged me to find out for myself. I really wanted to master an instrument, but I was too stupid for it. At school I always played the triangle. I was always terrible at sports, but I could dash through the thicket like a jungle mowgli and stand on the handlebars of my bike while riding. I had a tree house without walls but with an elevator (a large bucket on a rope). There were magical places that felt different. Terrible things were happening at the same time, but I was always laughing and looking at life as an adventure. I keep this strength, this eternal child, because we are reborn every day in an unknown world.🌌🌠

𝗘𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴-𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝗶𝗸𝗲 🚲
😊🌱🌼🌞🐦🎶

In Oberursel-Stierstadt I saw these 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗲𝗽 (I assume Heidschnucke).

And I show you the 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲-𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲 in Germany. Originally it was a transformer substation, but a few years ago it has been converted into a residential building with 14 square meters.

The facade was sprayed by the Oberursel graffiti artist 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝘂𝘀 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮 (1979-2017) based on the Alte Oper in Frankfurt.

That's a big manure heap behind me 😁🌞

Dung piles are important and something to be happy about. In modern agriculture, there are fewer and fewer. Flies lay their eggs in dung. A lot of flies! And these flies are an important food source for birds like swifts and swallows.

It's my birthday! 🥳
And I got a lot of sweets today 😁

Wish you a beautiful weekend! 💜

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Wish you a joyful and pleasant weekend! 😊
It's going to be sunny here! 🌞
Thunderstorms on Monday. 🤩
I love the warm season. 🧡
All the energy! 🍀🌿🌱

It's such a lovely day 🌞💚
Have a nice long weekend! 🐇🌺

Go for a walk every day, even if it's just a short one. A 10-minute walk already improves health and well-being. Now that spring is finally here, I don't want to do anything else. I could be the sloth version auf Forrest Gump... "Walk Forrest! Walk!"

🌞💚

Short-haired sloth 👽