The leaf as a solar panel
The magic recipe of air and water
The ancient bacteria that changed the world
The global engine of life
YOUR GOAL
Master of How leaves eat sunlight
artiteacher Cyanobacteria
Cyanobacteria / Drinking in the light / Making the blue sky!
artiteacher Early cells swallowed photosynthetic bacteria, which eventually evolved into modern chloroplasts.
artiteacher The sudden rise of oxygen caused a massive extinction of early anaerobic life.
artiteacher Match sunlight with ancient bacteria to learn how they started photosynthesis on Earth.
Stromatolite survival: Living stromatolites still grow today in highly salty bays in Western Australia.
Photosynthetic bacteria that produce oxygen and are commonly referred to as blue-green algae. These organisms triggered the Great Oxidation Event about 2.4 billion years ago, permanently altering Earth's atmosphere.
According to endosymbiotic theory, what did the ancestor of modern chloroplasts originally start out as?
Approximately how many billion years ago did cyanobacteria first begin producing oxygen on Earth?
Which biologist proposed the theory of endosymbiosis in 1967 to explain how chloroplasts evolved?
Which ancient ocean microbes are credited with first inventing the process of photosynthesis?
What are the ancient, layered rock formations built by photosynthetic microbes called?
What is the name of the planetary event 2.4 billion years ago when oxygen first flooded Earth's atmosphere?
Why was the sudden appearance of oxygen on early Earth considered a 'catastrophe' for existing life?