Sunlight influences an array of biochemical processes in plants, animals, fungi, and bacteria. In numerous organisms, phytochromes—a special class of photoreceptors—absorb red or far-red light and transform it into signals ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Aug 20, 2021
0
202
The discovery by a RIKEN-led team of a single photoreceptor that can detect orange, far-red, and blue light will provide new insights into the evolutionary history of plant photoreceptors.
Plants & Animals
Aug 16, 2021
0
487
A new analysis of known exoplanets has revealed that Earth-like conditions on potentially habitable planets may be much rarer than previously thought. The work focuses on the conditions required for oxygen-based photosynthesis ...
Astrobiology
Jun 23, 2021
2
256
Scientists have discovered one of the smallest black holes on record—and the closest one to Earth found to date.
Astronomy
Apr 21, 2021
25
14244
Imagine seeing the world in muted shades—gray sky, gray grass. Some people with color blindness see everything this way, though most can't see specific colors. Tinted glasses can help, but they can't be used to correct ...
Bio & Medicine
Mar 3, 2021
1
400
Do you dim the lighting and turn on the red light for a romantic night in with your partner? It turns out moths aren't so different in that regard. A new study published in Frontiers in Genetics shows that dim red light boosts ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 24, 2021
0
57
The colors in a flower patch appear completely different to a bear, a honeybee, a butterfly and humans. The ability to see these colors is generated by specific properties of opsins—light-sensitive proteins in the retina ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 9, 2021
0
142
Earth gets blasted by mild short gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) most days. But sometimes, a giant flare like GRB 200415A arrives at our galaxy, sweeping along energy that dwarfs our sun. In fact, the most powerful explosions in ...
Astronomy
Jan 13, 2021
0
79
Protein therapies are often more potent and selective toward their biochemical targets than other types of drugs, particularly small molecules. However, proteins are also more likely to be quickly degraded by enzymes or cleared ...
Biochemistry
Dec 9, 2020
0
75
Why have cyanobacteria and algae evolved a wide variety of photosynthetic pigments, and how are these pigments distributed geographically? Scientists from the University of Amsterdam and Roscoff (France) give an intriguing ...
Ecology
Nov 10, 2020
0
71
