To fight climate change, a biotech firm has genetically engineered a very peppy poplar | Science

A California biotech company seeking to create fast-growing trees that can rapidly soak up atmospheric carbon dioxide has announced its first experimental results: the firm’s genetically enhanced poplars grew more than 1.5 times faster than unmodified ones in lab trials. Plant scientists applaud the news, but caution that much more work is needed before engineered … Read more

mRNA technology: Vaccine biotech has helped repair broken hearts in mice

By Michael Le Page An illustration of a strand of mRNA MattLphotography / Alamy Stock Photo Immune cells in the bodies of mice have been temporarily reprogrammed to repair damaged hearts by removing scar tissue, thanks to the technology used in the mRNA coronavirus vaccines. “After you give the treatment, the scar goes away,” says … Read more

How Biotech Crops Can Crash–and Still Never Fail

The United Nations Food Systems Summit held last September was eclipsed by a powerful countermobilization effort led by farmers and scientists, as well as civil society groups allied with Indigenous communities and small-scale food producers across the world. These are the very people critical to achieving the summit’s stated goals of ending hunger and promoting … Read more