Photosynthesis News and Research

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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.

Bacteria do engage in photosynthesis, research suggests

Knowing whether or not marine microbes engage in photosynthesis -; the use of sunlight to turn carbon dioxide and water into energy -; could help scientists to learn if ocean bacteria play a role in the global carbon cycle.

25 Oct 2022

Dual threat may lead cyanobacteria to take in more carbon

The types of ocean bacteria known to absorb carbon dioxide from the air require more energy – in the form of carbon – and other resources when they're simultaneously infected by viruses and face attack from nearby predators, new research has found.

19 Oct 2022

Molecular insights into the photosynthesis process

The most essential foundation of life on Earth is photosynthesis. Plants and single-celled algae use sunlight’s energy to turn it into sugar and biomass.

17 Oct 2022

Dynamic oxygen levels could have accelerated the development of early animal life

Oxygen levels in the Earth's atmosphere are likely to have "fluctuated wildly" one billion years ago, creating conditions that could have accelerated the development of early animal life, according to new research.

17 Oct 2022

Machine learning can predict the biological properties of Earth's most abundant enzyme

A Newcastle University study has for the first time shown that machine learning can predict the biological properties of the most abundant enzyme on Earth - Rubisco.

From Newcastle University 3 Oct 2022

Crucial steps taken to produce sustainable chemicals in living microfactories

Professor Stefan Mecking from the University of Konstanz’s Department of Chemistry and Doctoral Candidate Natalie Schunck have now discovered a means to significantly increase the efficiency of the process of upgrading sustainable raw materials.

30 Sep 2022

Discovery of genes lending tolerance to sugarcane from pests, cold, and drought

Saccharum spontaneum, a species of wild sugarcane with exceptional resistance to biotic stresses like nematodes, fungi, bacteria, and other pests and diseases, as well as abiotic stresses like cold, drought, salinity, and nutritionally deficient soil, was the subject of a study at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in Brazil.

28 Sep 2022

Excess carbon in the atmosphere has increased wood volume of forests

Trees have long been known to buffer humans from the worst effects of climate change by pulling carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Now new research shows just how much forests have been bulking up on that excess carbon.

28 Sep 2022

The influence of mitochondria on evolution, food security, and climate change

The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently announced that it will support the work of a cooperative team of researchers, led by Elizabeth Vierling, Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, who intend to spend the next four years researching the function of mitochondria in plant productivity.

13 Sep 2022

Researchers discover a new way plants are adapting to changing climate

While increased carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere encourage plant growth, they also reduce the nutritional value of plants, which can have a larger impact on nutrition and food safety worldwide.

13 Sep 2022

Understanding protein structures can be more complicated than thought

When you think of proteins – the enzymes, signaling molecules, and structural components in every living thing – you might think of single strands of amino acids, organized like beads on a string.

29 Aug 2022

A more environmentally friendly way to produce widely used artificial organic dyes

Organic, i.e. carbon-containing dyes have important roles in nature. For example, they are responsible for transporting oxygen and other gases in the body (as part of hemoglobin) and converting solar energy into chemical energy in photosynthesis (chlorophyll).

22 Aug 2022

Exploring how young soils can support plant life

In order to grow well, plants need a place to grow, access to nutrients, and in most cases sunlight. A rich soil provides that home and a good supply of nutrients.

16 Aug 2022

Researchers modify the root structure of plants with synthetic genes

Crops need to be more adaptable than ever as extreme weather events like floods, droughts, and heat waves grow more frequently.

15 Aug 2022

Scientists incorporate the diel cycle into global ocean model to explore effects on phytoplankton

Phytoplankton is the foundation of all life on the planet. Understanding how these photosynthetic organisms react to their ocean environment is important to understanding the rest of the food web.

10 Aug 2022

Research reveals the secrets of photosynthesis in the shade

Plants and algae use green-tinted chlorophyll to convert high-energy sunlight into food via photosynthesis.

10 Aug 2022

Common weed holds important clues to create drought-resistant crops

A common weed harbors important clues about how to create drought-resistant crops in a world beset by climate change.

9 Aug 2022

Study explores phytoplasmas in insects from natural areas

Phytoplasmas are bacteria that can invade the vascular tissues of plants, causing many different crop diseases.

3 Aug 2022

Researchers examine ancient microbes to find life beyond earth

Researchers have reproduced what life was like for some of the oldest species on Earth using light-capturing proteins found in living microorganisms. These initiatives may enable everyone to spot life in distant worlds, whose atmospheres mirror the pre-oxygen planet more closely.

1 Jul 2022