C4 plants had evolved from C3 ancestors in at least more than 60 independent lineages of angiosperms, most probably in response to decreasing levels of atmospheric CO2 and environmental conditions ...

What greater magic can there be than the signature trick of all leaf magicians when they extract a rare gas from the ...

More than 3 billion years ago, on an Earth entirely covered with water, photosynthesis first evolved in ancient bacteria. In the following millions of years, those bacteria evolved into plants, ...

Plants use sunlight to convert water and carbon dioxide into energy-rich sugars and oxygen in various ways (photosynthesis). Drought is a major challenge in this process. A research team led by ...

Researchers have achieved a breakthrough in understanding how genetic drivers influence the evolution of a specific photosynthesis mechanism in Tillandsia (air plants). This sheds light on the complex ...

A new review maps how every essential plant nutrient element, from magnesium in chlorophyll to manganese in the ...

Humans adjust to changes in temperature by putting on a sweater or taking off layers. Plants adjust to temperature changes, in part, by switching the way they express the protein that performs the ...

With artificial photosynthesis, humankind could utilize solar energy to bind carbon dioxide and produce hydrogen. Chemists have taken this one step further: They have synthesized a stack of dyes that ...

Plant behaviour may seem rather boring compared with the frenetic excesses of animals. Yet the lives of our vegetable friends, who tirelessly feed the entire biosphere (including us), are full of ...

Cross sections of C3 rice (left) and C4 sorghum (right) shoots. Both grain crops evolved from a common ancestor, but sorghum evolved to photosynthesize more efficiently. LA JOLLA (November 20, ...