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.
Plants do not wait hours to respond to intense sunlight—they react within minutes. Researchers at Bielefeld University and the Australian National University have discovered a new signaling pathway that enables plants to ...
Molecular & Computational biology
15 hours ago
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The Amazon rainforest is one of the largest carbon reservoirs on Earth. It is also the world's largest source of biogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These carbon-based gases are naturally released by vegetation. They ...
Environment
Jul 9, 2026
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High above the rainforest floor, tiny ponds form in the leaves of plants perched on tree branches. Frogs breed in these ponds, alongside insects, microbes and even tiny crustaceans, creating miniature ecosystems suspended ...
Evolution
Jul 9, 2026
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Forests are shaped by light competition. The trees that grow the tallest have access to the most sunlight, blocking the rays and rendering the shaded space around them inhospitable to shorter trees below. In this stem exclusion ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 8, 2026
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In a major step toward enhancing food security and exploring the potential to bring rice farming back to Hawaiʻi, an international research team has successfully cultivated premium Japanese rice varieties on Kauaʻi using ...
Agriculture
Jul 6, 2026
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Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have found how plant cells respond to stress. If their energy supply is disrupted by heat, drought or saline soils, chloroplasts—the cells' powerhouses—send an intracellular ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Jul 2, 2026
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A new study from scientists at Purdue University reports that far-red radiation, in combination with increased carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentration, significantly enhances biomass production in young leaf lettuce grown under ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 26, 2026
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Climate warming is intensifying terrestrial water scarcity and drought risks worldwide. Meanwhile, rising atmospheric CO2 reduces plant stomatal conductance—the openness of leaf pores that governs both CO2 intake and water ...
Environment
Jun 26, 2026
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A new study reveals the dynamics of photosynthesis at the cellular level. Led by co-authors Professor Barry Bruce and Associate Professor Rajan Lamichhane, both of the Department of Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 23, 2026
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Researchers have discovered how certain photosynthetic bacteria use a sophisticated quantum mechanism to increase their efficiency when capturing sunlight. The study, published today in the journal Nature Chemistry and led ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 23, 2026
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