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Photosynthesis

All articles tagged with #photosynthesis

Heat Halts Tree Growth in Summer, Clouding Forests’ Climate Role
climate-change2 days ago

Heat Halts Tree Growth in Summer, Clouding Forests’ Climate Role

A multinational study using point dendrometers and 75 years of data finds that many oaks stop producing woody biomass by mid-summer even as photosynthesis continues, meaning forests may absorb less CO2 than climate models assume. Eastern oaks absorbed 36% of their carbon without growth, California oaks 26%, suggesting a decoupling of growth from photosynthesis under hot, dry conditions. The results could prompt revisions to how forests are represented in climate projections and call for broader testing across species and ecosystems.

via Gizmodo|
#carbon-sequestration#climate-change#drought
Earth Could Host Life For 1.8 Billion More Years Amid Sun's Brightening, Study Says
science9 days ago

Earth Could Host Life For 1.8 Billion More Years Amid Sun's Brightening, Study Says

A study using 29 climate models suggests Earth's vegetative biosphere could persist about 1.8 billion years longer as the Sun brightens, delaying ocean loss and food-web collapse. The work highlights plant strategies that tolerate warming and lower CO2, implying the biosphere could adapt to future conditions, though exact evolutionary outcomes remain uncertain.

via Yahoo|
#biosphere#climate-models#life-on-earth
Ocean Microbes Provide About Half of Earth’s Oxygen, With a Hidden Footnote
science20 days ago

Ocean Microbes Provide About Half of Earth’s Oxygen, With a Hidden Footnote

Phytoplankton in the sunlit ocean photosynthesize enough to supply about half of Earth's oxygen, with Prochlorococcus alone contributing up to a fifth; rainforests are not net producers since their oxygen output is offset by respiration and decay. Atmospheric oxygen is a long-term stock built over millions of years by buried carbon, not a daily plankton output. Satellites like NASA's PACE now help distinguish phytoplankton communities to refine these estimates and track ocean changes.

via Space Daily|
#ocean#oxygen#pace
Earth’s extended life window: life could endure for nearly two billion more years as the Sun brightens
science26 days ago

Earth’s extended life window: life could endure for nearly two billion more years as the Sun brightens

New 3D climate-models suggest Earth could support life for roughly 1.0–1.9 billion more years as the Sun brightens; strong weathering drives CO2 down and most land plants die, while weak weathering keeps CO2 higher and lets some plants survive longer. The results are more optimistic than earlier estimates and note geoengineering or evolution could further extend the window.

via Ars Technica|
#climate-modeling#co2-cycle#earth-future
Forests' carbon sink may be weaker than photosynthesis alone implies
environment29 days ago

Forests' carbon sink may be weaker than photosynthesis alone implies

A study across 137 sites in the US finds tree growth often stops before the growing season ends, meaning wood production—and long‑term carbon storage—can lag behind the apparent carbon uptake from photosynthesis. In eastern sites about 36% of yearly uptake occurs after growth has ceased, and about 26% in California. Dry, hot conditions sharply limit wood growth, suggesting models that link carbon uptake directly to photosynthesis may overestimate future forest carbon sequestration as climate change raises aridity. The researchers plan to test if this decoupling occurs in other species and regions.

via The Guardian|
#aridity#carbon-sinks#environment
Paddles, Proteins, and the Dawn of Photosynthesis
science1 month ago

Paddles, Proteins, and the Dawn of Photosynthesis

Researchers study ancient cyanobacteria, especially Gloeobacteria such as Anthocerotibacter panamensis, to glimpse how oxygen-producing photosynthesis evolved. A. panamensis has a paddle-shaped antenna and lacks thylakoids, while its photosystem core remains highly conserved, suggesting core machinery persisted while light-harvesting structures diversified; finding more early-branching species could reveal whether oxygenic photosynthesis arose once or multiple times and which photosystem came first.

via Quanta Magazine|
#cyanobacteria#evolution#gloeobacteria
Spinach-powered eye drops spark partial photosynthesis in mouse eyes
health1 month ago

Spinach-powered eye drops spark partial photosynthesis in mouse eyes

Researchers developed LEAF eye drops containing photosynthetic machinery from spinach. In mice with dry eye, the drops triggered light-driven reactions that reduced inflammation, increased tear production, and minimized corneal damage by producing NADPH, an antioxidant. The approach is promising but has only been tested in mice so far; human safety trials are planned and the drops are designed to remain transparent (no green eyes).

via Live Science|
#dry-eye-disease#eyes#health
Spinach-Inspired Photosynthesis Targets Dry Eye in Eye Cells
science1 month ago

Spinach-Inspired Photosynthesis Targets Dry Eye in Eye Cells

Scientists at NUS bioengineered spinach-derived photosynthetic machinery to function in mammalian corneal cells via eye drops, using light to generate anti-inflammatory chemicals and combat oxidative stress in dry eye disease, a condition affecting about 1.5 billion people; the work, published in Cell, explores a novel, plant-based approach to treating dry eye by harnessing light-driven chemistry in eye tissues (still at early model stages).

via ZME Science|
#bioengineering#cornea#dry-eye-disease
Decade-long breakthrough: first total synthesis of bacteriochlorophyll a achieved in lab
science2 months ago

Decade-long breakthrough: first total synthesis of bacteriochlorophyll a achieved in lab

After nine years of work, a US team led by Jonathan Lindsey at NC State achieved the first total synthesis of bacteriochlorophyll a, a four-stereocentre macrocycle central to bacterial photosynthesis. The route uses an asymmetric Michael addition to set stereochemistry, a Knoevenagel condensation to join halves, followed by Nazarov cyclisation and electrophilic aromatic substitution to close the macrocycle with the correct configuration. Despite Covid-related supply challenges and the death of a team member in February 2025 slowing progress, the achievement provides access to a range of photosynthetic tetrapyrroles and could be adapted to other native pigments, with plans to streamline the process and improve yields.

via Chemistry World|
#bacteriochlorophyll-a#macrocycle#photosynthesis
Earth Without the Sun: Darkness, Ice, and the Collapse of Life
science3 months ago

Earth Without the Sun: Darkness, Ice, and the Collapse of Life

If the Sun vanished, light would reach Earth for about eight more minutes, after which a rapid blackout would plunge the planet into darkness and an abrupt drop in temperature. Photosynthesis would cease, jeopardizing most surface life and food crops, while artificial light and underground refuges might sustain a fraction of humanity. The Moon would go dark, orbits could destabilize, and only hardy organisms like tardigrades and some chemosynthetic microbes might survive long term. Oceans could persist for years in the deepest regions, but the climate would continue to cool toward near‑absolute zero. In the far future the Sun itself will die and our oceans may vaporize as it expands, but the immediate catastrophe would be a swift descent into a dark, icy world.

via Live Science|
#climate#earth#extinction
Earth’s green revolution: how land plants transformed the planet
science3 months ago

Earth’s green revolution: how land plants transformed the planet

Plants first evolved from green algae and began colonizing land around 470 million years ago. To survive, they developed a waxy cuticle to reduce water loss, stronger cell walls, and simple anchor structures; by about 420 million years ago, vascular tissue allowed taller growth and the creation of soils, accelerating weathering and increasing atmospheric oxygen. Later, seeds around 380 million years ago improved reproductive success in dry conditions, and flowering plants around 140 million years ago spread with animal pollinators and fruit dispersal, driving widespread biodiversity. This chain of innovations transformed Earth’s atmosphere, soils, and ecosystems, enabling life to flourish on land.

via Live Science|
#earth-history#evolution#fossils
Cave cyanobacteria harness near-infrared light, expanding the search for life in the cosmos
science5 months ago

Cave cyanobacteria harness near-infrared light, expanding the search for life in the cosmos

Scientists exploring Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico found cyanobacteria on cave walls that can photosynthesize using near-infrared light thanks to chlorophyll d and f, enabling energy capture in darkness and in cave zones possibly untouched for about 49 million years. This widens the known range of photosynthesis, implying red-dwarf–type stars could host life and helping to refine the search for habitable exoplanets with JWST by focusing on longer wavelengths and lower light levels where oxygen could signal life.

via BBC|
#astrobiology#caves#cyanobacteria