Scientists Use Photosynthesis to Power an Animal’s Brain

Injecting oxygen-generating algae into tadpoles allows brain activity to continue in the absence of oxygen, researchers find.

Written byAbby Olena, PhD

| 3 min read

A side view of the head and upper body of a tadpole that's been injected with cyanobacteria. Its eye is black and the rest of its head and body are various shades of green.

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ABOVE: A Xenopus laevis tadpole after injection of cyanobacteria into its heart
SUZAN ÖZUGUR AND HANS STRAKA

Unlike plants, animals can’t carry out photosynthesis to generate our own oxygen, yet our brains rely on oxygen to make the massive amounts of energy needed to function. In a study published today (October 13) in iScience, researchers found a way to harness photosynthesis to supply neurons with oxygen: they injected either cyanobacteria or green algae into Xenopus laevis tadpoles and deprived the animals of oxygen, causing brain activity to cease. Exposing the animals to light, which allowed the microbes to make oxygen from CO₂, restored neural activity.

“The authors employ an elegant and easily reproducible experimental approach to examine the effects of activation of photosynthetic organisms as a way to directly increase oxygen levels in the brain,” Diana Martinez, a neuroscientist at Rowan University in New Jersey who was not involved in the ...

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The head of a tadpole is pictured. Its eye is black, but the rest of its head is various shades of green

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Meet the Author

Abby Olena, PhD
As a freelancer for The Scientist, Abby reports on new developments in life science for the website. She has a PhD from Vanderbilt University and got her start in science journalism as the Chicago Tribune’s AAAS Mass Media Fellow in 2013. Following a stint as an intern for The Scientist, Abby was a postdoc in science communication at Duke University, where she developed and taught courses to help scientists share their research. In addition to her work as a science journalist, she leads science writing and communication workshops and co-produces a conversational podcast. She is based in Alabama.
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