Self-Assembling Photovoltaic Tech From MIT

telomerewhythere writes "Michael Strano and his team at MIT have made a self-assembling and indefinitely repairable photovoltaic cell based on the principle found in chloroplasts inside plant cells. 'The system Strano's team produced is made up of seven different compounds, including the carbon nanotubes, the phospholipids, and the proteins that make up the reaction centers, which under the right conditions spontaneously assemble themselves into a light-harvesting structure that produces an electric current. Strano says he believes this sets a record for the complexity of a self-assembling system. When a surfactant is added to the mix, the seven components all come apart and form a soupy solution. Then, when the researchers removed the surfactant, the compounds spontaneously assembled once again into a perfectly formed, rejuvenated photocell.'"

Re:This is incredible news

[CubicleView]

I thought you could pick a common starting point for related species or maybe a period of time for unrelated species and ask how different is this species today compaired to what it was then (at least hypothetically if it's impossible to do so pratically). The one with the greatest genetic drift would be considered to have evolved more.

Re:This is incredible news

[Anonymous Coward]

The one with the greatest genetic drift would be considered to have evolved more.

Whether that's good or bad for it is left up to contention. If a creature is perfectly built for a location, then it will eventually become the least evolved creature.

But still the best!