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.
Optimal packing problems have inspired mathematicians for centuries. Biophysicists now add a layer to the question: How do chloroplasts arrange themselves optimally within cells, when the meaning of "optimal" changes over ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 23, 2025
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Just as the human body contains a multitude of symbiotic microbial companions, most plant species also live alongside microbial friends. Among these companions are mycorrhizal fungi, which help plants gather water and nutrients—particularly ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 22, 2025
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Too much sun can ruin photosynthesis, scorching plants and other organisms that depend on capturing sunlight for energy. Beneath the waves, though, algae have found a clever shield.
Ecology
Oct 22, 2025
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A new study has revealed how phosphorus, a nutrient essential for photosynthesis, surged into ancient oceans and started Earth's first major rise in atmospheric oxygen more than 2 billion years ago.
Astrobiology
Oct 20, 2025
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Long before plants and algae, cyanobacteria were already performing photosynthesis—filling Earth's skies with oxygen and setting the stage for life as we know it. The ultra-prevalent bacteria are critical to the global carbon ...
Cell & Microbiology
Oct 8, 2025
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85
Researchers, including those from the University of Tokyo, have successfully grown large tomatoes and cherry tomatoes, both rich in nutrients, in tightly controlled environments where the light source was energy-efficient ...
Biotechnology
Sep 19, 2025
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Researchers have revealed a previously unknown way plants shape their growth in response to light—a breakthrough that could better equip crops to handle environmental stress.
Plants & Animals
Sep 17, 2025
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Typically, plants rely on the Calvin-Benson-Bassham (CBB) cycle to convert carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to usable organic matter for growth. Although this cycle is the main pathway for carbon fixation in all plants on ...
Through photosynthesis, plants use sunlight to convert water and carbon dioxide into energy-rich carbon compounds such as glucose. These compounds not only sustain the plant's own growth and development but are also channeled ...
Ecology
Sep 9, 2025
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A multilayer film that reflects heat while letting through light needed for photosynthesis could make greenhouse agriculture more energy- and water-efficient. Such a film has been developed by engineers at the University ...
Biotechnology
Sep 9, 2025
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