Photosynthesis is the set of light-driven biochemical processes by which phototrophic organisms convert electromagnetic energy into chemical energy, primarily storing it in carbohydrates synthesized from inorganic carbon. In oxygenic photosynthesis, chlorophyll-based reaction centers (photosystems I and II) located in thylakoid membranes couple photon absorption to charge separation, driving linear electron transport from water to NADP⁺, generating O₂, NADPH, and a proton motive force used for ATP synthesis via photophosphorylation. The resulting ATP and NADPH fuel the Calvin–Benson–Bassham cycle, which fixes CO₂ into organic molecules, integrating tightly regulated metabolic, redox, and signaling networks that respond to cellular and environmental conditions.
Wind does more than sway trees. It also plays an important role in determining an ecosystem's water-use efficiency—defined as the amount of carbon an ecosystem absorbs per unit of water lost. Water-use efficiency is an important ...
Ecology
Oct 16, 2026
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A substantial loss of plant diversity could mean that grasslands worldwide, including meadows and pastures, would absorb around 15% less CO₂ through photosynthesis by midcentury compared with a scenario in which diversity ...
Environment
Oct 8, 2026
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Penguin poop is fertilizing snow algae blooms along the Antarctic Peninsula, feeding dense green algae patches along the coastline, a new study shows. These expanding stretches of green snow melt faster than clean, white ...
Earth Sciences
Oct 7, 2026
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Microalgae (microscopic organisms that use light and carbon dioxide to grow) can be used to make ingredients and food for animals, pigments and potentially renewable fuels. But growing microalgae efficiently at an industrial ...
Biotechnology
Oct 6, 2026
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Scientists used machine learning and super-resolution microscopy to overcome a challenge that has stymied research into the natural history of grasses for decades. Their method allowed them to detect subtle differences among ...
Ecology
Oct 5, 2026
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Broccoli grown under magenta solar panels absorbed sunlight more efficiently than plants grown out in the open, according to a study to be published Oct. 2 in Cell Reports Physical Science.
Biotechnology
Oct 2, 2026
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A single-celled green alga from the sand dunes of the Negev Desert has, within just a few years, become a key model organism in modern photosynthesis research. Chlorella ohadii helps researchers better understand plants' ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 1, 2026
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California's iconic coast redwoods are used to growing in cool, coastal areas where the average temperature is around 59 degrees F (15 degrees Celsius). But as average yearly temperatures rise and heat waves push temperatures ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 28, 2026
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To survive periods of drought, trees halt photosynthesis, a highly water-intensive process. For every molecule of CO₂ absorbed by a tree leaf, an average of around 400 water molecules are released. Entire forests may then ...
Ecology
Sep 28, 2026
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A team of Chilean and Spanish researchers has published the results of one of the longest-running in-situ warming experiments in maritime Antarctica in the journal Physiologia Plantarum. The experiment exposed the Antarctic ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 23, 2026
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