Carnivorous plants of the genus Pinguicula (butterworts) from Mexico apparently use the same water-saving photosynthesis type as many succulent plants, such as cacti. Botanists from the SNSB and LMU Munich have now demonstrated CAM photosynthesis in carnivorous plants for the first time. The research team has published its findings in the journal Plant Biology.

Cell growth is the most fundamental process in organisms, yet the way in which metabolism determines its rate has long remained unclear. To decipher this mystery, researchers from Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI), Japan, uncovered a new “global constraint principle,” which unites two classical biological laws—Monod’s law for microbes and Liebig’s law for plants. The study demonstrates that as nutrients increase, other cellular resources start to run short, revealing a universal law of biological growth.