If the Amazon rainforest functions as our planet’s lungs, what do raging wildfires threaten? An atmospheric scientist explains why the fires, though devastating, won’t suffocate life on Earth.
A farmer shows smaller-than-usual soybeans harvested due to drought conditions in Tallapoosa, Georgia.
AP Photo/David Goldman
Many of the crop plants that feed us waste 20 percent of their energy, especially in hot weather. Plant geneticists prove that capturing this energy could boost crop yields by up to 40 percent.
Genetically engineered tobacco plants growing in a greenhouse.
Paul South
Paul South, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
As the climate changes and the population grows, meeting the demand for food will become more difficult as arable land declines. But an international team of scientists has figured out an innovative solution to dramatically bumping up crop yields.