The Google Doodle honoring Jan Ingenhousz, who discovered oxygenic photosynthesis

Rubisco, the crucial enzyme powering photosynthesis

Photosynthesis is the crucial process by which plants absorb sunlight, take up water, and breathe in carbon dioxide, prompting chemical reactions that result in the byproducts sugar and oxygen. A key enzyme, rubisco, is responsible for it all, but it is inefficient. This video explores the key protein and reveals fascinating facts about oxygen and photosynthesis.

How MIT researchers have used genetic mutations to improve photosynthesis efficiency

Recognizing that RuBisCO—a protein that binds carbon dioxide to other compounds to produce the building blocks of organic molecules—often mistakenly binds oxygen, scientists performed directed evolution experiments to modify the geometry of a bacterial version of the protein to cause it to preferentially interact with carbon dioxide over oxygen.

Watch underwater photosynthesis make water look like champagne

In shallow waters where sunlight can reach, photosynthetic reactions absorb water and dissolved carbon dioxide, producing bubbles of oxygen at the surface of plants. As these bubbles rise to the water's surface, a fizzy appearance is created.

How scientists discovered helium from sunlight over a decade before seeing it on Earth

In 1868, using tools that dispersed light into its constituent colors like a prism, astronomers Pierre Jules César Janssen and Joseph Norman Lockyer independently identified a bright yellow line in the solar spectrum that didn't match any known element. Fourteen years later, amid continued skepticism over the existence of a new element, the same spectral signature was observed in lava on Earth.

Pineapple research helped scientists solve Los Angeles' smog mystery

In the 1950s, chemist Arie Haagen-Smit applied methods he'd used studying pineapple plant chemistry to smog-filled air—discovering that sunlight reacting with car exhaust produced photochemical smog from hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides, not factory smoke.

Evidence suggests the first cells on Earth were bacteria

About 4 billion years ago, these single-celled organisms harvested carbon dioxide and sunlight to produce their own food and oxygen, setting the stage for the evolution of oxygen-breathing life forms. Archaeabacteria, which thrive on inorganic molecules in extreme habitats on Earth today, were also among the earliest organisms.

Validation of the greenhouse effect may have been misattributed

Although Irish physicist John Tyndall showed in 1859 that water vapor and carbon dioxide could absorb and radiate infrared radiation, experiments by American scientist Eunice Foote three years earlier identified the same phenomenon for light in general. Historically overshadowed, her work was rediscovered by female historians over a century later.

The unexpected origin story of the snow globe

In 1900, a Vienna tradesman named Erwin Perzy I was attempting to invent an inexpensive way to improve light amplification in hospital operating rooms. After experimenting with a glass globe filled with water, the idea for the snow globe struck. Industrious as well as inventive, Perzy eventually turned his idea into a successful business. Read the full article to learn how the invention grew to become recognized globally.

Exploring carbon compound pore structures contributed to improved gas mask filtration

During World War II, the British Coal Utilisation Research Association sought to improve the efficiency of coal as an energy source and studied the effectiveness of charcoal filters to keep soldiers safe. Rosalind Franklin's research there formed the basis of her PhD and led to five scientific papers.

Chronobiologists study the effect of time on biological cycles

Circadian rhythms were first observed in the 1700s, when French astronomer Jean-Jacques D'Ortous de Mairan put a plant in a dark room and watched it still respond to day and night cycles, setting off further studies about specific light-dark biological cycles, an area of inquiry that continues today with the human "clock proteins" at the molecular level.

Robert Koch won the Nobel for his tuberculosis work, but he also pioneered cholera research

Koch was one of the first scientists to isolate the bacterium that causes cholera while investigating an outbreak in Egypt in 1883. He went on to advise about rules to control cholera outbreaks, which formed the basis of the disease control approaches and water hygiene techniques still used today.

How specialized oxygen mixtures like heliox enable deep diving without feeling drunk

Beyond a depth of about 30 meters (98 feet), if divers are breathing surface air, which is about 78% nitrogen, underwater pressure forces more nitrogen into the bloodstream and induces nitrogen narcosis, whose symptoms resemble alcohol intoxication. Through saturation diving, where nitrogen is replaced with helium—an inert gas—deep divers can maintain cognitive function while working for extended periods.

The 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded for lithium-ion battery development

Stanley Whittingham developed the first functional lithium battery in the early 1970s, while John Goodenough doubled its electrical potential in 1980 by replacing the cathode, thereby enhancing its commercial viability. Five years later, Akira Yoshino developed an anode using carbon material, reducing the risk of flammability.

Learn more about the history of fireworks, which dates back to an accidental invention during an alchemist's quest for information about immortality.

Massive blooms of microscopic plankton called dinoflagellates produce the neon blue light seen in glowing tides.

View a gallery of bioluminescent organisms, including jellyfish and mushrooms

Some species produce a quick flash of light, while others glow steadily with an eerie glow, often to seek attention or in response to being disturbed. Snails, worms, fungi, and other organisms highlight that this ability evolved independently, rather than from one common ancestor.

Rune Elmqvist forwent practicing medicine to invent the first inkjet printer

The Mingograph recorded real-time physiological signals from a patient's electrocardiogram, helping doctors diagnose heart and brain conditions. Eight years later, in 1958, Elmqvist worked with cardiac surgeon Åke Senning to develop the first fully implantable pacemaker.

Scientists used mass spectrometry to determine the materials in a 1690 painting

Previously used to map the distribution of molecules on biological tissue samples, researchers combined the technique with machine learning to uncover six layers of pigments, binders, and a thin gold leaf layer within *The Marriage of the Virgin*, from a collection in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The technique may help identify and track artists' material use to learn about pieces of unknown provenance. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

The first rooftop solar panels were installed in 1883

In 1883, New York inventor Charles Fritts created the first solar cell by coating selenium with a thin layer of gold. The cell achieved energy conversion rates of 1 to 2% compared to the 15 to 20% of modern photovoltaics.

Dom Pérignon was a 17th-century French monk often inaccurately credited with inventing Champagne

You’ve probably heard of Dom Pérignon the brand, but what do you know about Dom Pérignon the man? He is often credited with inventing Champagne—which is why the iconic (and expensive) Champagne house is named after him—but the truth is he simply pioneered many methods for manufacturing it.

Drs. Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier discuss CRISPR

Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier's were awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize for research focused on understanding and adapting the CRISPR-Cas9 system to precisely edit DNA sequences in other organisms. Doudna has indicated that the system can potentially treat genetic forms of blindness and high cholesterol.

Scientists testing how climate change affects plants found, in a years-long simulation study, that poison ivy grew 70% faster with the resulting extra carbon dioxide.

Learn more about the history of fireworks, which date back to an accidental invention during an alchemist's quest for information about immortality

When bamboo in China was tossed into fire in 200 BCE, there was an explosion. About 1000 years later, around 800 CE, an alchemist searching for secrets to immortality mixed sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate together, leading to gunpowder. That mixture was then packed into bamboo or paper tubes, leading to fireworks.

The hidden engineering of gas stations

Contemporary gas stations are the result of a century of engineering progress. In the early 1900s, only a few thousand cars drove around, and they used kerosene. As vehicles and cheaper gasoline became more popular, fire hazards grew, forcing the invention of fuel pumps, underground storage tanks, and the automatic shutoff valve—all engineering marvels.

Photographer finds 120-year-old time capsule, develops the photos

Photographer Mathieu Stern found a century-old time capsule in his family home containing a little girl’s mementos and two glass plate negatives. He used Cyanotype to develop the photographs, unveiling images of the child’s pets. Stern documented the process in a video on YouTube and Instagram, showcasing the final prints of the animals.

David Attenborough received the 2021 Champions of the Earth Lifetime Achievement Award

The UN's highest environmental honor celebrated Attenborough as "one of the leading voices of the global environmental movement." For at least four decades, he collaborated with the UN Environment Programme by advocating for "efforts to counter the climate crisis, biodiversity loss and pollution" and addressing "world leaders at the UN Climate Change Conference" in 2021.

Robert Oppenheimer became the face of the Manhattan Project and the atomic bomb

This feature explores Oppenheimer’s early life, the traits that made him central to the development of the atomic bomb, and how his later years were marked by tension between pride in his work and opposition to weapons of mass destruction.

An interactive timeline of history's famous figures

The past few millennia of humankind have produced numerous figures who left their mark on culture and society in their respective era. This interactive timeline from data visualization expert Jan Willem pulls data from Wikipedia to illustrate history's most important people relative to their prominence in modern-day thought.

Clever Hans was a 1900s horse that was believed to be able to solve math equations, tell time, and read and comprehend German, until a psychology student discovered how he got his answers.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

Georgia O'Keeffe's flower paintings are often assumed to be sexual, though the artist claimed she was simply interested in highlighting the beauty of flowers that most people neglect

See how each of the more than two million known species relates to each other—and to common ancestors—in this zoomable tree of life.

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

See the 25 of the best photos of auroras from around the world.

The 19th-century painters of the Hudson River School were among the first American romantics, with portraits that displayed the natural beauty of the young country.

The original copy of the Declaration of Independence is not a pristine document, and even features a smudged anonymous handprint in the bottom left corner.

English mathematician Ada Lovelace wrote the first computer algorithm a century before computers existed and hypothesized that computing devices would one day be able to compose music—foreseeing the generative AI systems of today.

The first line of 'immortal' human cells, which can divide indefinitely and are used in scientific research, was nonconsensually taken from a Black woman.

After NASA's Voyager 1 captured Earth as a single pixel as it left the solar system in 1990, astronomer Carl Sagan used the image to reflect on humanity's fragility and the responsibility to protect 'the only world we've ever known.'

Double world record holder Hunter Ewen helped conquer his fear of balloons, called globophobia, by training to win Guinness World Record titles for balloon inflation.

Dorothy's famous entrance into Oz in 'The Wizard of Oz' relied on analog tricks, including a body double and sepia-toned paint, as much as it did on technology

Explore an interactive map built from more than 100,000 survey responses on where people find joy in their lives

Budweiser stores yeast derived from the original 1800s strain in a secret bunker, which only the Head of Yeast Management can access—not even the CEO

The word 'jazz' evolved from 'jasm,' 19th-century American slang for 'energy'

American dance legend Martha Graham, sometimes called 'the Picasso of dance,' refused to perform at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and conceived the piece 'Chronicle' in response to the experience.

The identity of the Tank Man in the iconic photo from the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests remains unknown and was possibly killed.

Legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the SC Johnson headquarters in Wisconsin, aiming to make a cathedral-like workplace

Studies suggest when you sleep is as important as how much you get, and syncing with your circadian rhythms may lead to less fatigue and improved long-term health outcomes

Warren Buffett's former professor Benjamin Graham is known as the 'father of value investing,' a strategy in which investors seek to buy stocks trading below their intrinsic worth.

El Niño, Spanish for 'the boy,' was named after Jesus Christ because the phenomenon resembled the weather changes observed around Christmastime.