Produced by: Manoj Kumar
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Before plants ruled, Earth may have glowed violet. The first life forms used retinal instead of chlorophyll, absorbing green light and reflecting red and blue—turning the planet an eerie purple.
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Chlorophyll wasn’t always king. Retinal, a simpler molecule found in some microbes today, dominated ancient photosynthesis. Evolutionary competition may have forced this purple pigment into the shadows.
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Microbes in the Great Salt Lake and the Dead Sea still use retinal-based photosynthesis. These surviving purple organisms may be living fossils from a time when Earth shimmered in violet hues.
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Retinal thrived in Earth’s oxygen-poor past, but chlorophyll changed everything. The Great Oxygenation Event wiped out many retinal users, making way for green plants—and a total planetary makeover.
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Scientists think distant worlds could still be ruled by purple life. If retinal was Earth’s first light-harvesting system, why not elsewhere? Alien biospheres may glow in unexpected colors.
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Halobacteria, modern descendants of retinal-powered life, thrive in extreme conditions. Their survival hints that ancient purple organisms once dominated vast, sunlit waters before chlorophyll took over.
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Chlorophyll won, but why? It absorbs more light efficiently, outcompeting retinal organisms. Yet retinal was first, hinting at an ancient evolutionary showdown between green and purple life.
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Astrobiologists say purple planets might be easier to spot than green ones. If alien life uses retinal, exoplanets could shine with a violet glow—making them prime targets for space telescopes.
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Could retinal-based life make a comeback? In extreme environments on Earth—and maybe beyond—microbes using this ancient system still persist. If conditions shift, purple life may rise again.
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