Pigment’s Production of Two Colors Explained
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
Roses are red, cornflowers are blue and after nearly a century of trying, scientists say they have worked out why.
The same pigment, anthocyanin, colors both flowers. But researchers at Tokyo Gakugei University say they have found that the molecular structure of the pigment in cornflowers is slightly different from its structure in roses.
The difference lies in the arrangement of metal ions -- atoms of iron, magnesium and calcium -- inside the molecule.
In the current issue of the journal Nature, the scientists say they think “a previously undiscovered type of supermolecular pigment” explains the striking color difference.
