Photosynthesis News and Research

RSS

Photosynthesis is a chemical process by which plants, some bacteria, and algae convert energy derived from sunlight to chemical energy. This is an important process for biological life on earth because it allows energy from sunlight to be harnessed and transferred into a form that can be utilized by organisms to fuel their activity.

Detective work inside plant cells finds a key piece of the C4 photosynthesis puzzle

An impressive body of evidence published this week reveals the answer to a mystery that has puzzled plant scientists for more than 30 years.

3 Mar 2021

New study on plant metabolism can help produce more food for increasing population

A new study has demonstrated how plants exploit their metabolism to identify time and know when to develop.

2 Mar 2021

New breakthrough in understanding how single-cell algae keep track of light as they swim

Scientists have made a pivotal breakthrough in the quest to understand how single-cell green algae are able to keep track of the light as they swim.

25 Feb 2021

Computer modeling system can accurately predict the impact of ozone on soybean production

The impact of ozone on soybean production can be predicted more accurately thanks to improvements to a computer modeling system.

2 Feb 2021

Study reveals complete genome of major parasitic flowering plant

On January 22 in Current Biology, a team of Harvard-led researchers presented the most complete genome yet assembled of one of the major Rafflesiaceae lineages, Sapria himalayana.

25 Jan 2021

INRS research team paves the way towards production of green hydrogen

A research team from the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) has joined forces with French researchers from the Institute of Chemistry and Processes for Energy, Environment and Health (ICPEES), a CNRS-University of Strasbourg joint research lab, to pave the way towards the production of green hydrogen.

25 Jan 2021

Earth’s largest freshwater lakes reveal carbon fixation trends

NASA-funded research on the 11 largest freshwater lakes in the world coupled field and satellite observations to provide a new understanding of how large bodies of water fix carbon, as well as how a changing climate and lakes interact.

22 Jan 2021

New approach to biomaterial production may ease environmental burden of forestry, agriculture

It takes a lot to make a wooden table. Grow a tree, cut it down, transport it, mill it ... you get the point. It's a decades-long process. Luis Fernando Velásquez-García suggests a simpler solution: "If you want a table, then you should just grow a table."

22 Jan 2021

Researchers show how the genetic material travels from cell to cell

The genetic material of plants, animals, and humans is well protected in the nucleus of each cell and stores all the information that forms an organism. For example, information about the size or color of flowers, hair or fur is predefined here.

12 Jan 2021

Semi-artificial electrode could convert light energy into other energy forms in biosolar cells

A research team from the Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB), together with colleagues from Lisbon, has produced a semi-artificial electrode that could convert light energy into other forms of energy in biosolar cells.

22 Dec 2020

Terrestrial ecosystems are becoming less efficient in climate change mitigation

Land ecosystems currently play a key role in mitigating climate change. The more carbon dioxide (CO2) plants and trees absorb during photosynthesis, the process they use to make food, the less CO2 remains trapped in the atmosphere where it can cause temperatures to rise.

21 Dec 2020

Studies examine greenhouse gas emissions and forest degradation

Land use and land-use change are thought to be responsible for about 23% of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions.

17 Dec 2020

Microbes act as efficient microscopic fuel cell, shows study

By borrowing nature's blueprints for photosynthesis, Cornell University bioengineers have found a way to efficiently absorb and store large-scale, low-cost renewable energy from the sun - while sequestering atmospheric carbon dioxide to use later as a biofuel.

16 Dec 2020

Biochemist discovers hidden cellular machinery essential for higher-order life

In his first year of graduate school, Rice University biochemist Zachary Wright discovered something hidden inside a common piece of cellular machinery that's essential for all higher order life from yeast to humans.

7 Dec 2020

Genetically engineered organisms can help mitigate atmospheric carbon

Climate change has become a crucial issue in the world. But in spite of agreements to combat climate change, global temperatures continue to rise.

12 Nov 2020

Some crops are not adapted to gain from elevated CO2 levels

The U.S. backs out of the Paris climate agreement even as carbon dioxide (CO2) levels continue to rise. Through photosynthesis, plants are able to turn CO2 into yield. Logic tells us that more CO2 should boost crop production, but a new review from the University of Illinois shows that some crops, including corn, are adapted to a pre-industrial environment and cannot distribute their resources effectively to take advantage of extra CO2.

6 Nov 2020