Comics

Will the food of the future be genetically engineered or organic? How about both?

Feeding the planet — now and tomorrow — is no small task. Plant biologist Pamela Ronald says sustainability means using every tool in the toolbox.

People walking through a dark greenhouse filled with trays of softly glowing plants

Society

What a bioluminescent petunia had to teach me

I bought a glowing plant. It led me down a rabbit hole of radiant mushrooms, 19th century experiments and a modern rivalry between scientists in Russia and the Americas.

Conceptual illustration of scientists studying photosynthesis.

Food & Environment

The photosynthesis fix

As world food needs rise, so does the need for faster, more efficient plant growth. Bypassing an error-prone enzyme is one way to do it.

A barrel of sake, jar of soy sauce and bowl of miso paste against a background of fluffy, yellow-green Aspergillus mold.

Food & Environment

From toxic fungus to soy sauce superstar

Today the koji mold is a master fermenter, but it has a checkered past

Photograph of a field of ripening soybeans

Society

Finding the fat: The US Farm Bill and health

America has grown obese on processed, sugary and deceptively cheap foods. Some blame policies enshrined in an unwieldy, bloated beast of legislation.

A collage of 11 flowers of thermogenic plants

Living World

Rotten tricks: How hot and stinky plants woo pollinators

To attract insects, thermogenic plants turn up the heat, emit strong odors and even disguise themselves as corpses

Illustration shows skinny plant wearing sunglasses and posing for photographs while animals, plants and a person cluster around it.

Living World

How a humble weed became a superstar of biology

Arabidopsis thaliana was always an unlikely candidate for the limelight. But 25 years ago, the diminutive thale cress launched the botanical world into the molecular era.

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