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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?