Chemistry
The Photochemistry of Vision: How Retinal Isomerization Triggers Signaling
Quick fact
The molecule retinal, a form of vitamin A, absorbs a single photon and changes from a bent (11-cis) shape to a straight (all-trans) shape in about 200 femtoseconds—one of the fastest biological reactions known—triggering the entire visual signaling cascade.
Why this is interesting
When you look at a rainbow, the colors you see are created by a single molecule that changes shape in less than a trillionth of a second. What is that molecule, and how does its change become the image in your brain?