Crops that can handle heat

As the main ingredient in lots of delicious meals, the potato is already a special vegetable. Now, scientists have produced an even more extraordinary spud – one that could help people cope with the effects of global warming. As the Earth’s temperatures rise, growing crops in warmer conditions could be very important for feeding people around the world. Researchers from the University of Essex, in the UK, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, in the US, have teamed up as part of RIPE, an international research project. Their aim was to genetically modify a type of potato plant called Desiree to make it grow better in hotter weather. Genetic modification of crops is when the chemical instructions that tell the plants how to grow are deliberately altered by scientists. Genes…

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The Week Junior (UK) (Digital) - 1 Issue, 474

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