The new gold rush in the digital world is all about renewable energy. But more than that, it is about making this energy reliable, which means finding ways to not just generate it but to store it when it is not needed and release it when it is needed. Like many other groundbreaking inventions, scientists have turned for inspiration to nature. The energy that our planet—and our dominant species—consume comes from the Sun in one form or another. Besides solar, however, which is probably the first energy source that comes to mind when one mentions the Sun, there is another way to harness its energy: photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is the process through which plants use the energy of the sun to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose. Scientists have been trying for years to replicate the process, with the end result being electricity rather than glucose, and they have […]