Photosynthesis is a fundamental biological process by which plants use light energy for growth. Most life forms on Earth are directly or indirectly dependent on photosynthesis. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Germany have collaborated with colleagues from the Australian National University to study the formation of carboxysomes, a structure that increases the efficiency of photosynthesis in aquatic bacteria. Their results, now published in Nature, could lead to the engineering of plants with more efficient photosynthesis and thus higher crop yields.