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.

ISU researchers find possible alternative adjuvant for alum to boost the effectiveness of vaccines

On the rocky road of cancer research, Indiana State University scientists have made important discoveries.

29 Jul 2008

Molecular movies reveal dynamic lives of proteins

Capturing moving images of tiny protein molecules is the aim of a new research project announced today at Imperial College London. The research will reveal, on extremely short timescales, the miniscule movements of proteins which help carry out important biological processes in people, animals, insects and plants.

30 Jun 2008

Sun and vitamin D levels may play a strong role in risk of type 1 diabetes in children

In this new study, the researchers found that populations living at or near the equator, where there is abundant sunshine (and ultraviolet B irradiance) have low incidence rates of type 1 diabetes. Conversely, populations at higher latitudes, where available sunlight is scarcer, have higher incidence rates.

5 Jun 2008

From algae to parasites: new 'missing link' species found in Sydney Harbour

It's not often that brown algae is considered exciting or revolutionary, but Associate Professor Dee Carter from the School of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences at the University of Sydney and her former PhD student, Robert Moore, have found a new species of single-celled brown algae that is an evolutionary missing link.

2 Apr 2008

A biosensing nanodevice to revolutionize health screenings

One day soon a biosensing nanodevice developed by Arizona State University researcher Wayne Frasch may eliminate long lines at airport security checkpoints and revolutionize health screenings for diseases like anthrax, cancer and antibiotic resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

26 Mar 2008

New insights into what happens on a molecular level during photosynthesis

In a technical advance that could allow researchers to watch cells as they act during the process of photosynthesis, scientists have developed a method that extends the power of fluorescence-mediated bio-imaging to see discrete pigments inside live cells of bacteria.

6 Mar 2008

Researchers decode genetics of chlorophyll d

A bacterium that harvests far-red light by making a rare form of chlorophyll (chlorophyll d) has revealed its genetic secrets, according to a team of researchers who recently sequenced the bacteria's genome.

8 Feb 2008

Researchers uncover key interaction in cholesterol regulation

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have determined the specific way in which a destructive protein binds to and interferes with a molecule that removes low-density lipoproteins (LDL), the so-called "bad" cholesterol, from the blood.

4 Feb 2008

Nitrogen fixation process in plants to combat drought in various species of legumes

The regulation of the biological fixation of nitrogen in hydric stress conditions varies with the different species of legume plants studied.

24 Jan 2008

New research alters concept of how circadian clock functions

Scientists from the University of Cambridge have identified a molecule that may govern how the circadian clock in plants responds to environmental changes.

14 Dec 2007

There is a new twist on the question of how biological clocks work

In recent years, scientists have discovered that biological clocks help organize a dizzying array of biochemical processes in the body. Despite a number of hypotheses, exactly how the microscopic pacemakers in every cell in the body exert such a widespread influence has remained a mystery.

21 Nov 2007

Clear link between lack of sunlight and endometrial cancer

Using newly available data on worldwide cancer incidence, researchers at the Moores Cancer Center at University of California, San Diego (UCSD) have shown a clear association between deficiency in exposure to sunlight, specifically ultraviolet B (UVB), and endometrial cancer.

15 Nov 2007

Chlamydomonas reinhardtii genome holds clues for renewable energy, the environment and human health

University of Minnesota researchers contributed to a national effort to sequence the genome of an ancient, one-celled organism that will help advance research in a broad range of areas, from biofuels to restoring the environment to understanding a variety of human diseases.

12 Oct 2007

Simplest circadian clocks operate via orderly phosphate transfers

Researchers at Harvard University and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute have found that a simple circadian clock found in some bacteria operates by the rhythmic addition and subtraction of phosphate groups at two key locations on a single protein.

4 Oct 2007

Light may play a much more important role in bacterial life than has previously thought

The bacteria that cause brucellosis can sense light and use the information to regulate their virulence, according to a study in the August 24 issue of the journal Science.

24 Aug 2007

NanoSIMS instrument clarifies nutrient cycle

Scientists at the University of Southern California have applied a nanoscale imaging method to a biological system, helping to clear up an old puzzle of the global carbon and nitrogen cycle.

9 Jul 2007

Researchers discover why some mosquitoes are resistant to malaria

A team led by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers has discovered why some mosquitoes are resistant to malaria, a finding that may one day help fight a disease that afflicts and kills millions of people.

9 Jul 2007

New view of photosynthesis

During the remarkable cascade of events of photosynthesis, plants approach the pinnacle of stinginess by scavenging nearly every photon of available light energy to produce food.

4 May 2007

Green leaves may fight obesity

Could a substance found in green leaves be used as a means of combating obesity, by being added to various functional foods to keep the consumer feeling full longer?

26 Jun 2006

Tobacco plants being used to produce human albumin

Human serum albumin (HSA) is the intravenous protein most commonly used in the world for therapeutic ends. It is employed to stabilise blood volume and to avoid risk of a heart attack, its administration in operating theatres being almost a daily occurrence.

27 Mar 2006