A novel microscope pins down the miracle of molecular oxygen Researchers track the first step of the reaction of one single dye pigment with oxygen at unprecedented resolution Jascha Repp Artist's impression of the interaction of the triplet state (blue arrows) of an individual pentacene molecule (black and white) with an oxygen molecule (red). Zoom in ").addClass("image-details"); var $imageCaption = $("").addClass("image-caption").text(caption); $imageDetails.append($imageCaption); element = $(" ").append('×').append($imageHolder).append($imageDetails)[0]; img.draggable = false; if (title) { element.title = title; } if (altText) { element.alt = altText; } $(img).on("load error", callbackWrapper); img.src = url; return element; } Why is it that the colours of a t-shirt fade over time in the sun? Why do you get a sunburn, and why do the leaves of a tree turn brown in the autumn? These questions all have one theme in common, the interplay between dye pigments and ambient oxygen. Every child learns about this chemical reaction in school, the oxidation process in the air that we breathe, so what could possibly be left to research?