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Chloroplast

Chloroplasts are organelles found in plant cells and eukaryotic algae that conduct photosynthesis. Chloroplasts absorb sunlight and use it in conjunction with water and carbon dioxide gas to produce food for the plant. Chloroplasts capture light energy from the sun to produce the free energy stored in ATP and NADPH through a process called photosynthesis. Chloroplasts are one of the many unique organelles in the body, and are generally considered to have originated as endosymbiotic cyanobacteria. In this respect they are similar to mitochondria, but are found only in plants and protista. Both organelles are surrounded by a double celled composite membrane with an intermembrane space; both have their own DNA and are involved in energy metabolism; and both have reticulations, or many infoldings, filling their inner spaces.

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May 20, 2026

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Scientists at UBC Okanagan have uncovered how plants produce mitraphylline, a rare natural compound with promising anti cancer potential. The team identified two enzymes that work together to build the molecule’s unusual twisted structure, solving ...
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