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.
Before plants evolved, vegetative life consisted of primitive green algae living in the sea. Like plants, these algae survived by performing photosynthesis, turning sunlight into energy. However, little light reaches the ...
Evolution
Feb 3, 2026
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In efforts to better understand how soybean plants capture and use light, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign investigated how leaf size and shape affect light distribution within the crop canopy. Using ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 2, 2026
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Scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have created a new method that more than doubles computer processing speeds while using 75% less memory to analyze plant imaging data. The advance removes ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Jan 29, 2026
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For 450 million years, plants and soil fungi have been trading partners. The fungi weave through plant roots, delivering phosphorus and other soil minerals in exchange for sugars and fats produced by the plant through photosynthesis. ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Jan 22, 2026
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A research team led by Profs. Li Jing and Liu Qinhuo from the Aerospace Information Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (AIRCAS) has developed the world's first global, high-resolution map of leaf chlorophyll ...
Environment
Jan 21, 2026
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For centuries, scientists have known that plants "breathe" through microscopic pores on their leaves called stomata. These tiny valves are the gatekeepers that balance the intake of carbon dioxide into the leaf for photosynthesis ...
Biotechnology
Jan 6, 2026
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There are "costs of life" that mechanical physics cannot calculate. A clear example is the energy required to keep specific biochemical processes active—such as those that make up photosynthesis, although the examples are ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jan 6, 2026
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The basics of photosynthesis are something that every student learns in school: carbon dioxide, water and light in; oxygen and sugar for growth out. In a world where atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are rising, it is plausible ...
Environment
Dec 22, 2025
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A plant's success may depend on how well the three sets of genetic instructions it carries in its cells cooperate, according to a new study led by plant scientists at Penn State. In an analysis of the hybrids of two crossbred ...
Plants & Animals
Dec 17, 2025
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As children, we're taught that the functions of a leaf are photosynthesis (turning sunlight into chemical energy) and storing water. This is generally true, including for the lettuce leaves we eat.
Molecular & Computational biology
Dec 17, 2025
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