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.
Corals obtain energy in two ways: firstly, through photosynthesis by their symbiotic algae, and secondly by taking up small food particles such as plankton directly from the water. In scientific terms, this process is known ...
Plants & Animals
Dec 15, 2025
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The energy that plants capture from sunlight through photosynthesis provides the source of nearly all of humanity's food. Yet the process of photosynthesis has inefficiencies that limit crop productivity, especially in a ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Dec 11, 2025
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In an interesting turn of botanical events, University of Houston engineers report that while melatonin keeps us asleep, it wakes up plants, helping them grow.
Molecular & Computational biology
Dec 9, 2025
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For decades, boosting photosynthesis in crops has been viewed as a scientific holy grail. Yet photosynthesis does not operate in isolation: it is tightly interwoven with environmental factors—light, CO₂, soil nitrogen, and ...
Plants & Animals
Dec 8, 2025
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Iron (Fe) is an essential micronutrient for the healthy growth of plants, including many staple crops like rice. Its deficiency remains a common agricultural problem that slashes crop yields, as it leads to impaired photosynthesis, ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Dec 3, 2025
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Imagine biting into a crisp, garden-fresh salad and savoring juicy strawberries for dessert. But instead of your backyard, you're gazing out at a stark lunar landscape, Earth hanging like a precious blue marble in the inky ...
Space Exploration
Nov 26, 2025
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Carnivorous plants of the genus Pinguicula (butterworts) from Mexico apparently use the same water-saving photosynthesis type as many succulent plants, such as cacti. Botanists from the SNSB and LMU Munich have now demonstrated ...
Ecology
Nov 11, 2025
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Chloroplasts—the "light power plants" of plant cells—are increasingly the focus of synthetic biology. These organelles house the photosynthetic apparatus and host several metabolic pathways that are of great interest for ...
Biotechnology
Nov 3, 2025
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Every year, abiotic stress factors such as drought, heat, salinity or high light intensity—combined with unfavorable soil conditions caused by human activity (herbicides, pH changes, or various contaminants such as microplastics)—and ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 30, 2025
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23
Australian researchers have created tiny compartments to help supercharge photosynthesis, potentially boosting wheat and rice yields while slashing water and nitrogen use.
Biotechnology
Oct 30, 2025
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