Effects of external electric fields on pea subchloroplast particles

Duration of hornet sleep induced by ether anesthesia is curtailed by exposure to sun or UV irradiation

Irradiation of hornets anesthetized by diethyl ether curtails their sleep duration from the ordinary 20-30 min to a mere 2-3 min. This effect on sleep is dependent on the intensity of the sun irradiation or, when exposed to monochromatic UV at 366 nm, on the duration of the irradiation. Of the various hornet cuticular areas of the body, the yellow cuticular areas of the abdominal segments are the most sensitive to the treatment. We assume that the cuticles of both live and dead hornets act as a converter of light to electric energy.

Electric field promotion of the bacteriorhodopsin BR570 to BR412 photoconversion in films of Halobacterium halobium purple membranes

The combined action of electric field (105-107 V x m-1) and light (380-580 nm, 80 W x m-2) activating the photoenergetic reaction of bacteriorhodopsin (BR) in dry films of purple membranes from Halobacterium halobium was studied. A new stimulating effect of the field on the BR412 intermediate accumulation in the normal photochromic cycle of BR570 has been observed. The formation of the product BR412 is supposed to be accompanied by specific rearrangements of certain charged, polar and polarizable groups in the BR pigment-protein matrix. Such an intrinsic polarization could be promoted by an external electric field, the displacement vector of those groups being oriented in the direction of the filed. The dielectric polarization properties of the purple membranes have been demonstrated by electret-thermal analysis.