Illuminating Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis in plants and a few bacteria is responsible for feeding nearly all life on Earth. It allows energy from the Sun to be converted into a storable form, usually glucose, which plants use to grow and thrive. Photosynthesis also generates the oxygen that animals need to survive. And we animals repay the favor: We exhale the carbon dioxide that plants need for photosynthesis. Here, take a closer look at the oxygen/carbon dioxide cycle and the process of photosynthesis.