Recent advances in understanding and improving photosynthesis.

Since 1893, when the word "photosynthesis" was first coined by Charles Reid Barnes and Conway MacMillan, our understanding of the elements and regulation of this complex process is far from being entirely understood. We aim to review the most relevant advances in photosynthesis research from the last few years and to provide a perspective on the forthcoming research in this field. Recent discoveries related to light sensing, harvesting, and dissipation; kinetics of CO2 fixation; components and regulators of CO2 diffusion through stomata and mesophyll; and genetic engineering for improving photosynthetic and production capacities of crops are addressed.