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.
Electrons can be "kicked across" solar materials at almost the fastest speed nature allows, scientists have discovered, challenging long-held theories about how solar energy systems work. The finding could help researchers ...
General Physics
Mar 5, 2026
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251
For decades, the basics of plant growth have been taught in grade school: Plants make their food out of water from the soil, light from the sun and carbon dioxide from the air in a process called photosynthesis. What gets ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 3, 2026
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40
How much carbon dioxide do parks and individual trees in cities absorb, and how much do they release? To answer this question, researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have developed a high-resolution CO₂ biogenic ...
Environment
Mar 3, 2026
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21
In a world where increasing demands for food security and energy strain existing resources, scientists are looking for new ways to maximize both. One potential option, agrivoltaics, integrates solar photovoltaics with crops. ...
Biotechnology
Mar 2, 2026
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99
How do plants adapt to drought and heat? New studies on plants of the Canary Islands show that adaptation is not determined by a single character but by the interaction of entire sets of characters. Even closely related plants ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 24, 2026
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14
Plant owners with a so-called green thumb often seem to have a more finely tuned sense of what their plants need than the rest of us. A new "smart lighting" system for indoor vertical farms grants this ability on a facility-wide ...
Biotechnology
Feb 23, 2026
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29
Plants don't just respond to light and water, they also run on an internal daily timekeeper known as the circadian clock. Researchers have now discovered that the plant circadian clock can regulate electrochemical signals ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Feb 18, 2026
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31
Deep soils found in forests may be less effective at storing carbon in the long term than previously assumed, potentially reducing the net climate benefits of tree planting, a University of Stirling professor has warned. ...
Ecology
Feb 10, 2026
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85
The sun is the basis for photosynthesis, but not all plants thrive in strong sunlight. Strong sunlight constrains plant diversity and plant biomass in the world's grasslands, a new study shows. Temperature, precipitation, ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 9, 2026
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52
Plants fix 258 billion tons of CO2 in their chloroplasts through photosynthesis every year. For these cell organelles to work properly, they require certain minerals—particularly ions of the metals iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 3, 2026
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