X-Ray Laser Observes Photosynthesis in Action

Opening a new window on the way plants generate the oxygen we breathe, researchers used an X-ray laser at the Department of Energy's (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator

Laboratory to simultaneously look at the structure and chemical behavior of a natural catalyst involved in photosynthesis for the first time. The work, made possible by the ultrafast, ultrabright X-ray pulses at SLAC's Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), is a breakthrough in studying atomic-scale transformations in photosynthesis and other biological and industrial processes that depend on catalysts, which efficiently speed up reactions. The research is detailed in a Feb. 14 paper in Science.

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