photosynthesis

Using energy from light equivalent to sunlight the artificial photosynthesis system uses enzymes and a rhodium catalyst to produce a biodegradable plastic precursor. Now for the first time, the process works using low concentrations of CO2, similar to exhaust gas, and waste acetone as raw materials. Credit: Yutaka Amao, OMULow concentration CO2 can be reused in biodegradable plastic precursor using artificial <span class="glossaryLink" aria-describedby="tt" data-cmtooltip="<div…

In a groundbreaking development, researchers have successfully “hacked” the initial stages of photosynthesis – the natural process that fuels the majority of life on Earth. By uncovering new techniques to extract energy from this process, the findings could potentially pave the way for generating clean fuel and renewable energy solutions in the future. Credit: Robin HortonResearchers have ‘hacked’ the earliest stages of <span class="glossaryLink" aria-describedby="tt" data-cmtooltip="<div…

What if we could mimic how plants, algae, and bacteria harvest sunlight to create better solar panels? New research published Wednesday in Nature explores the molecular nitty-gritty of photosynthesis, and it may help us get closer to making this a reality.Young students learn about photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert sunlight and water into energy. But despite how seemingly basic the concept is, there are actually lots of mysteries remaining about how it works: namely, the photophysics of the process, the…

Forest cleared for palm oil planting in Aceh province, Indonesia.Photo: Ulet Ifansasti (Getty Images)If you’ve ever been offered the opportunity to donate money to plant a tree to offset a purchase, you’ve probably guessedthat trees naturally store carbon. Forests are an invaluable source of carbon storage around the world; one would assume that forests that have been cut down but are regrowing trees are also regaining their capacity to store carbon.But that assumption may be incredibly incorrect. Forests that are…

The researchers believe that their technique could pave the way for the creation of sustainable, multi-purpose green energy technologies in the future.Plants are often thought of as sources of food, oxygen, and decoration, but not as a source of electricity. However, scientists have discovered that by harnessing the natural transport of electrons within plant cells, it is possible to generate electricity as part of a green, biological solar cell. In a recent study published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces,…

By Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy Sciences January 15, 2023Photosynthesis is the greatest natural process on Earth. It has been widely accepted that CO2 assimilation takes place in light-independent reactions, for example, through the Calvin-Benson Cycle in the stroma. Here, an unusual light-driven CO2 assimilation (into methanol) by the PSII core complex in photosynthesis was reported. The extraordinary finding is likely to be a simultaneous event along with the usual electron transfer occurring in…

We are a solar-powered planet; the vast majority of energy needed for life on Earth comes from the sun – and a lot of it, including food and fossil fuels, is the result of plant-based photosynthesis – the conversion of sunlight, water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and sugars. The first chemical step in photosynthesis happens in the chlorophyll that gives leaves their green color – and this step is effectively a water-splitting operation that breaks H2O into oxygen, which is released into the air (thanks, plants), and…

Cloaked by the shadows of enchanting Asian woodlands, strange growths can be seen peeking out from between leaf litter like the ghosts of long-dead flowers.The plant's foliage lacks green pigment having forsaken photosynthesis in favor of an alternative source of nutrients on the forest floor, one stolen from fungi many other plants consider friends – the symbiotic mycorrhizae that connect most forest plants into a wood wide web.Found widely across East and Southeast Asia, from the Himalayas to Japan, Monotropastrum…

The study also shed light on how photosynthesis adapted to the rise of oxygen.Back to the future of photosynthesis. Rubisco, the central biocatalyst in <span class="glossaryLink" aria-describedby="tt" data-cmtooltip="<div class=glossaryItemTitle>photosynthesis</div><div class=glossaryItemBody>Photosynthesis is how plants and some microorganisms use sunlight to synthesize carbohydrates from carbon dioxide and water.</div>"…

Scientists see massive potential in the possibility of manipulating or mimicking the natural process of photosynthesis, which could lead to new forms of clean fuel, ways to soak up carbon dioxide or aid in drug discovery. New research has tugged this technology in an interesting new direction, with a team at Sweden’s Lund University demonstrating how carefully spaced mirrors can be used to trap light and supercharge photosynthetic harvesting.Photosynthesis is the process through which plants turn sunlight, carbon dioxide…