The oil palm in all our lives: how this came about

Most plants use the C3 pathway for carbon fixation. However, some plants, such as sugar cane, corn, and cacti that grow in hot conditions, use alternative pathways to fix carbon and conserve energy loss due to photorespiration. Photorespiration is the process that occurs when the oxygen concentration is high. Under such conditions, the rubisco enzyme in the Calvin cycle binds O2 instead of CO2, which halts photosynthesis and consumes energy.
C4 Pathway
The C4 pathway is used by plants such as...

From Water to Land

Most plants are seed plants—characterized by seeds, pollen, and reduced gametophytes. Seed plants include gymnosperms and angiosperms.

Plants grow throughout their lives; this is called indeterminate growth, and it distinguishes plants from most animals. Although certain parts of plants stop growing (e.g., leaves and flowers), others grow continuously—like roots and stems.

Plants have a life cycle split between two multicellular stages: a haploid stage—with cells containing one set of chromosomes—and a diploid stage—with cells containing two sets of chromosomes. The haploid stage is the gamete-producing gametophyte, and the diploid stage is the spore-producing sporophyte.

The microbial conversion of organic matter into biofuels holds potential as a renewable energy source. Among biofuel sources, microalgae are recognized as a highly efficient and adaptable feedstock for biodiesel production, owing to their rapid biomass accumulation, elevated lipid productivity, and capacity to proliferate in diverse aquatic systems, including freshwater, marine, and wastewater habitats. Unlike terrestrial crops, microalgae do not compete for land and can achieve significantly...