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 must carefully strike a balance between harvesting sunlight to fuel photosynthesis and protecting themselves from light damage. Part of this balancing act is performed by antenna proteins that are bound to light-harvesting ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 16, 2026
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Heat waves are arriving sooner and becoming hotter, with the United Kingdom recording May 25 as its hottest day in May since tracking began more than a century ago, only for the record to be broken again the next day. While ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 16, 2026
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A new study finds that plants respond to injury by actively redirecting sugars to damaged tissues, helping fuel the regeneration process. Using a fluorescent sensor to track sugar movement in living plants, researchers have ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 15, 2026
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It's intuitive to think that if a tree is photosynthesizing, it's also growing. But that's not necessarily so—and a new study of oak trees, published in the journal Science Advances, found that even as they photosynthesize ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 12, 2026
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During the Archean Eon—roughly 4 billion years ago—the Earth was a lifeless planet. The atmosphere lacked oxygen, and there were few, if any, organisms to be found anywhere on the globe. Then something incredible happened. ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 12, 2026
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Global rice production nearly doubled between the 1960s and the 2010s, despite the negative impacts of climate change, according to a new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The study found that management ...
Agriculture
Jun 10, 2026
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For decades, science has understood the basics of photosynthesis, the process by which plants turn sunlight into food. However, photosynthesis occurs on uniquely specialized membranes that we have only begun to understand. ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 9, 2026
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For plants, light is an important environmental factor not only as a source of energy for photosynthesis, but also as a signal for capturing environmental information. Light signals are sensed by photoreceptor proteins called ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 8, 2026
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Scientists have discovered a previously unknown regulatory mechanism in plant photosynthesis in the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. It helps plants adapt to changes in light conditions. The results, published ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Jun 7, 2026
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What if a common herb found in the kitchen could help farmers grow healthier crops? As the global population grows and agriculture faces increasing environmental challenges, scientists are searching for innovative ways to ...
