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.

News outlets report on developments from Agricultural Research Conference

Nature News examines potential funding reforms for the Consultative Group on International Agriculture Research (CGIAR), which are under discussion at a the Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD) in Montpellier, France. The CGIAR "supports thousands of scientists working on agriculture and food security in developing countries," according to Nature News.

2 Apr 2010

BBSRC, NSF to hold intensive week long facilitated workshop to enhance photosynthesis

Leading bioscience funding bodies in the UK and USA announce plans to promote scientific proposals in the potentially transformational area of enhanced photosynthesis.

31 Mar 2010

Impact of global warming on food prices would likely to drive many into poverty

The impact of global warming on food prices and hunger could be large over the next 20 years, according to a new Stanford University study. Researchers say that higher temperatures could significantly reduce yields of wheat, rice and maize - dietary staples for tens of millions of poor people who subsist on less than $1 a day.

21 Feb 2010

World leaders need to alter their notions on sustainable agriculture to prevent starvation catastrophe

Yields from some of the most important crops begin to decline sharply when average temperatures exceed about 30 degrees Celsius, or 86 Fahrenheit. Projections are that by the end of this century much of the tropics and subtropics will regularly see growing season temperatures above that level, hotter than the hottest summers now on record.

12 Feb 2010

Los Alamos National Laboratory identifies 'Top 10 Laboratory science stories of 2009'

Los Alamos National Laboratory (www.lanl.gov) has identified the Top 10 Laboratory science stories of 2009 based on global viewership of online media content and major programmatic milestones.

9 Jan 2010

DFG to strengthen its support for young researchers, approves establishment of 11 new Research Training Groups

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) has intensified its efforts to strengthen its support of young researchers. At its fall session in Bonn, the responsible Grants Committee of Germany's central research funding organisation approved the establishment of eleven new Research Training Groups. In these groups, doctoral researchers can earn their doctorates in a structured research and qualification programme.

13 Nov 2009

ASU receives $32 million as research grants

Arizona State University researchers to date have received more than $32 million in stimulus package research grants. For ASU, which has played a very active role in attracting this additional funding, much of these research funds have gone for projects that meet challenges currently confronting society.

30 Sep 2009

Photosynthesis can contribute to bacterial infiltration in fresh produce

Exposure to light and possibly photosynthesis itself could be helping disease-causing bacteria to be internalized by lettuce leaves, making them impervious to washing, according to research published in the October issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

29 Sep 2009

Plant gene regulating oil accumulation in plant seed licensed to BASF Plant Science

Technology that could enhance plants' seed oil content for food and animal feed applications has been licensed to BASF Plant Science under an exclusive commercial agreement with Michigan State University.

28 Sep 2009

Improved-resolution views of a zinc transporter protein deciphered

New, improved-resolution views of a zinc transporter protein deciphered at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory provide not just a structure but also a suggested mechanism for how cells sense and regulate zinc, an element that is essential for life, but which must be kept at a steady state to avoid problems like seizures, diabetes, and possibly Alzheimer's disease.

14 Sep 2009

Natural food compounds may play a vital role in cancer treatment

Research in the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University suggests that some natural food compounds, which previously have been studied for their ability to prevent cancer, may be able to play a more significant role in treating it - working side-by-side with the conventional drugs that are now used in chemotherapy.

1 Sep 2009

Free-living microalgae be used as broad-spectrum automated biosensor systems for continuous monitoring of drinking water

A method to detect contaminants in municipal water supplies has undergone further refinements by two Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers whose findings are published on line in Water Environment Research.

29 Aug 2009

NASA reports that prokaryote fusion is responsible for evolution of life on earth

Humans might not be walking on Earth today if not for the ancient fusing of two microscopic, single-celled organisms called prokaryotes, NASA-funded research has found.

20 Aug 2009

DNA of uncultured organisms sequenced using novel single cell genome sequencing approach

Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Genome Institute (JGI) and the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences have assembled high quality, contamination-free draft genomes of uncultured biodegrading microorganisms using a novel single cell genome sequencing approach.

22 Apr 2009

Next generation ultra-thin materials only one molecule thick

With the human genome in hand, biochemists have cataloged the 3-D structures of thousands of proteins isolated from living cells.

14 Apr 2009

Discovery of alga that detoxifies arsenic

Arsenic may be tough, but scientists have found a Yellowstone National Park alga that's tougher.

10 Mar 2009

Research links photosynthesis genes to marine virus fitness

A recent Northeastern University study has shown, for the first time, the effect of individual genes on the fitness of a marine species at the ecosystem level.

5 Feb 2009

Patent for making oxygen from light and water - early stage invention is advancement toward artificial lungs

Astronauts, submariners, miners, and those suffering from lung ailments take note: Innovation is coming to the rescue. A group of scientists from Battelle has earned a patent for generating oxygen in a process that mimics photosynthesis.

25 Sep 2008

Living sensor can warn of arsenic pollution

Scientists studying arsenic pollution have discovered a living sensor that can spot contamination. They have also discovered new bacteria that can clean up arsenic spills even in previously untreatable cold areas, microbiologists heard today (Monday 8 September 2008) at the Society for General Microbiology's Autumn meeting being held this week at Trinity College, Dublin.

7 Sep 2008

Nature inspires new highly specific drugs and organic products

The best place to seek novel compounds for pharmaceutical drugs, alternative energy sources, and a host of industrial applications, is within natural systems that have evolved over millions of years.

2 Sep 2008