Abstract

According to current dogma, the oxygen that enters in the organism through exchange places with the external environment, must reach out to all cells of the body; which implies important energy expenditure, and must also do so at a speed proportional to the metabolic demands of tissues. It is a deeply rooted dogma that molecules classified as respiratory pigments have merely a passive role as carriers of oxygen. Our finding of the inherent property of melanin to transform light energy into chemical energy through the dissociation of the water molecule, as chlorophyll in plants; will mark a before and after in the concept of respiration, with enough universal validity to be a new ground rule in Biology. Melanin can dissociate and re-form the water molecule. Respiratory Pigments can dissociate, irreversible the water molecule. The association between respiratory pigments and high levels of oxygen, is due to the constant dissociation of the water molecule inside the respiratory pigment, more than a passive role in the transport of oxygen from the lungs to the tissues.