Plants rely on their ability to sense light for survival. But unlike animals, plants don’t have eyes full of photoreceptors to capture and convey messages from visual stimuli. Instead, plants […]
Photosynthesis
Posted inHabitable Zones
Past Global Photosynthesis Reacted Quickly To More Carbon In The Air
Ice cores allow climate researchers to look 800,000 years back in time: atmospheric carbon acts as fertilizer, increasing biological production. The mechanism removes carbon from the air and thereby dampens […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology
Super-Earths, M Dwarfs, And Photosynthetic Organisms: Habitability In The Lab
In a few years, space telescopes will investigate our Galaxy to detect evidence of life, mainly by observing rocky planets. In the last decade, the observation of exoplanet atmospheres and […]
Posted inFossils & Paleontology
Identification Of One Of The First Multicellular Algae Thanks To Its Chlorophyll Fossilized For One Billion Years
Researchers from the Early Life Traces & Evolution Laboratory (Astrobiology / Faculty of Science) at the University of Liège have discovered the first in-situ evidence of chlorophyll remnants in a […]
Posted inPlant Biology
Zeroing In On The Origins Of Earth's Single Most Important Evolutionary Innovation
Some time in Earth’s early history, the planet took a turn toward habitability when a group of enterprising microbes known as cyanobacteria evolved oxygenic photosynthesis — the ability to turn […]
Posted inPlant Biology
The Evolution of Photosynthesis
A Rutgers-led study sheds new light on the evolution of photosynthesis in plants and algae, which could help to improve crop production. The paper appears in the journal New Phytologist. […]
Posted inPlant Biology
Efficiency Of The Oxygenic Photosynthesis On Earth-like Planets In The Habitable Zone
Oxygenic photosynthesis is the most important biochemical process in Earth biosphere and likely very common on other habitable terrestrial planets, given the general availability of its input chemical ingredients and […]
Posted inPlant Biology
Mystery Of Photosynthetic Algae Evolution Finally Solved
An evolutionary mystery that had eluded molecular biologists for decades may never have been solved if it weren’t for the COVID-19 pandemic. “Being stuck at home was a blessing in […]
Posted inPlant Biology
Photosynthesis Could Be As Old As Life Itself
Researchers find that the earliest bacteria had the tools to perform a crucial step in photosynthesis, changing how we think life evolved on Earth. The finding also challenges expectations for […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology
Non-classical Photosynthesis By Earth's Inorganic Semiconducting Minerals
Photosynthesis, the process by which plants and other organisms convert sunlight into chemical energy, has been a major player during the evolution of life and our planet’s atmosphere. Although most […]