Photosynthetic medicine: Engineering a plant-derived nanofoundry to power mammalian cells.

Mammalian eyes receive constant visible light yet lack photosynthesis. Xing et al. engineer an intact thylakoid grana nanoparticle enabling light-driven NADPH production within corneal cells, restoring antioxidant defenses and interrupting inflammatory cycles in dry eye disease. This work positions borrowed photosynthesis as a therapeutic strategy for oxidative, light-exposed tissue pathologies.