Plant-People

[PhoenixKing]

Alright guys. I've been thinking about this for a while. If we were to somehow genetically engineer skin so it has the same properties of that of a plant, that is to say, be able to convert sunlight into sugars and therefore energy, how would it work. What I mean is that, if we were to do this, we would have to remove our stomachs because having 2 energy sources is pointless, and plus, we wouldn't be eating food due to energy being created by our skin, causing our stomach to consume ourselves. Furthermore, how would this change the structure of the rest of the body? The brain? The torso? The spine?

 

[crimson5pheonix]

Solar powered humanity? You would still need to eat to gain back lost mass. You wouldn't have to eat as much though. Mostly you would just cut out sugar and calories. But I'm worried about chlorophyll forcing your skin to become more rigid.

EDIT: And welcome to the Escapist.

 

[Deef]

If we were solar powered I think we would move less and generally not live in a lot of places we do now.

 

[Shamgarr]

I've thought about this many times. I would want to have green skin/hair/eyes, the ability to like "swim" in the dirt like really fast tunneling, and have the ability to control plants and how they grow, what they produce, etc.

 

[ThePocketWeasel]

Test it out on your nearest friend victim.
I suppose it depends where you live. Man, England would be one country full of lazy people. Oh wait...

 

[Threx]

Since we have relied on our stomachs as an energy source for so long I assumed that if we were "altered" our bodies would find it's way back to it's original state and our sugar making skin would only be a safety precaution in extremes cases of hunger.

 

[PhoenixKing]

Would we have enough energy to go through our daily activities? On one hand, plant don't need much energy. On the other, when absorbing sunlight we got 100% direct energy, rather than it being slowly decreased with every interaction the plant has.