Biophysicist Nico Schramma and biophysicist Mazi Jalaal from Amsterdam University Medical Center have discovered that chloroplasts, which turn sunlight into sugars, are more adaptable to fluctuating light intensity than plants, which they need for photosynthesis. They have been studying the phenomenon in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in fall 2025. The researchers found that chloroplast physics allows each organelle to balance the plant’s appetite for light with its distaste for too much, expressing patterns within a cell. The discovery was made in the study of a common aquarium waterweed, Elodea densa, a model plant they use as a reference. The scientists also found that the chloroplast self-organizes into a mathematical optimum, which allows them to absorb ample light while allowing them to meander and hide efficiently.