AAAS logo teaser

Two RIPE researchers elected to AAAS Fellowship

Two RIPE researchers from the USDA-ARS and Australia’s CSIRO have been elected 2020 Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Hacking photosynthesis

We Can Grow 60% More Food By Hacking Photosynthesis

Hacking photosynthesis could grow up to 60% more food, on the same land we use today, according to an international team of researchers.

By: Amanda Winkler || Freethink 

photosynthesis

Here is ultraphotosynthesis!

It's done: by crossing plants and intervening on their genes, biochemists have managed to overcome billions of years of natural selection.

By: Pauline Fricot || Science & Vie 

41st Annual Telly Awards

41st Annual Telly Awards

Earlier this year, the RIPE team and the University of Illinois’ Video Services media team partnered up to create a trailer that told the story of our project’s purpose and mission, earning us the Gold Telly Award in the General: Not-For-Profit category.

Improvement in photosynthesis

Researchers resolve two photosynthetic bottlenecks which can boost plant productivity by 27 percent

According to a new study published in Nature Plants, scientists from the University of Essex have resolved two major photosynthetic bottlenecks to boost plant productivity by 27% in real-world field conditions.

By: Atomstalk 

 

Crops

Gene manipulation using algae could grow more crops with less water

Enhanced photosynthesis holds promise of higher yields in a drought-afflicted future.

By: Fiona Harvey || The Guardian 

Steven Burgess

From the lab to the field, agriculture seeks to adapt to a warming world

Researchers and innovators are looking at more resilient crops and farm animals to adapt to a world with rising temperatures and at-risk food supplies. 

By: Jim Robbins || YaleEnvironment360

14 rice varieties

Harnessing Light Energy: Scientists look at how photosynthesis could boost yields of rice cultivars

Scientists look at how photosynthesis could boost yields of rice cultivars. 

By: Seed Today

Picture of wheat

Scientists unlocking heat-tolerant wheat

Researchers working on molecular-level responses in crops have taken a step closer to their goal of producing heat-tolerant wheat.

By: Katy Askew || FoodNavigator

Johannes Kromdijk stands in a field

Johannes Kromdijk awarded SEB President’s Medal

The SEB President’s Medals are awarded annually to young scientists of outstanding merit.

ANU biologist Dr Tory Clarke, pictured with her son Isaac, now works from home.

Coronavirus restrictions closed Canberra universities, and it's affecting industries around the world

Tory Clarke shares how COVID-19 has impacted her work on the RIPE project at The Australian National University. 

By: Niki Burnside || ABC News 

Picture of rice in a field

Rice genetically engineered to resist heat waves can also produce up to 20% more grain

Deputy Director Don Ort comments on a photosynthetic breakthrough in rice. 

By: Erik Stokstad || Nature

Donald Ort Field Trials

Donald Ort awarded the Charles Reid Barnes Life Membership Award by ASPB

The Charles Reid Barnes Life Membership Award from the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) recognizes significant contributions to plant biology.

Dr. Chavonda Jacobs-Young

Inspirational women in STEM and tech: “Be True to Your Team” with Dr. Chavonda Jacobs-Young

U.S. Senior Executive scientist Dr. Chavonda Jacobs-Young explains that being true to one's team helps to build an atmosphere of trust by acting authentically and holding each other to high standards. 

By: Penny Bauder || Medium

Yu Wang and Steve Long

Study shines light on full potential of soybeans

Komorebi is a Japanese word that describes how light filters through leaves — creating shifting, dappled “sunflecks” that illustrate plants’ ever-changing light environment. Crops harness light energy to fix carbon dioxide into food via photosynthesis.

By: AgriNews Publications

Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE) is an international research project that is engineering crops to be more productive by improving photosynthesis.

Green Genes: Agronomists are engineering DNA to save some foods from extinction

Climate change feels like an unprecedented global challenge. But the truth is, humanity has been here before — approximately 11,000 years ago. That’s when the last Ice Age ended.

By: Matt Alderton || USA Today

Sorghum leaf illuminated by the sun.

Soybeans and other crops are hurting for light, but this research fights shadows

Scientists at RIPE have developed a new mathematical computer model to understand and measure how much soybean yield is lost due to light fluctuations on cloudy versus sunny days. 

By: Jeff Kart || Forbes

Path in the countryside with trees and paddy fields, of blond color with cut rice on the left, and still green on the right, during the harvest of October 2017 in Don Det, Si Phan Don, Laos.

The Golden Revolution

With the famed Green Revolution running out of puff, scientists are working on a new Golden Revolution that will deliver a step-change in agricultural output.

By: Ben Long || Rural Business

Illustration of a plant.

How we’ll reengineer crops for a changing climate

Genetic changes to food crops can’t solve all the problems associated with climate change, but they can help.

By: Laura Howes || Chemical & Engineering News

Provost, Stephen Long, Associate Dean Ando, Dean Kidwell pose together.

Stephen Long invested as the Stanley O. Ikenberry Chair Professor of Plant Biology and Crop Sciences

Stephen Long has been invested as the Stanley O. Ikenberry Chair Professor of Plant Biology and Crop Sciences, one of the most distinguished honors at Illinois.