Can We Supercharge Plants to Absorb More Carbon Dioxide? Yes.

We all know our forests and oceans naturally absorb carbon dioxide from the air, but when dealing with humans and human pollution, the amount of carbon dioxide seems to be overpowering nature’s balance. However, scientists at the Max Planck institute in Germany, led by Tobias Erb, have found a way to supercharge our green friends in order to make them better at absorbing carbon dioxide emissions. This could be a breakthrough in fighting climate change. Can We Change Biology? Erb believes there’s a chance at improving biology with synthetic biology, manipulating our earth for the better. And while plants are efficient at absorbing CO2, they aren’t fast. Erb and his team were able to find 17 enzymes from nine different organisms. After re-engineering three of them, the team had increased carbon dioxide absorption. They found that making the enzymes work together as a team, it increased their ability to consume CO2. While it’s only been tested in the lab, the next step is the real world to see if they can reproduce the results. Imagine what could happen if we found the same results outside, in our polluted world. Climate change may be something of the past.