Future proofing photosynthesis

As the planet warms and global population grows , a looming food crisis is spurring biochemists to reengineer one of the most common chemical processes on the planet: photosynthesis. These reactions are surprisingly inefficient, but making improvements is more challenging than anyone thought. And the clock is ticking—the United Nations predicts that the world will need to double food output in just a few decades. “Do you like to eat and breathe?” Of all the questions Amanda Cavanagh envisioned her PhD mentor asking her at their initial meeting , that one wasn’t anywhere on her list. Caught off guard, she could only stammer that yes, yes, she did. Quite a lot. “Then you might want to think about photosynthesis,” said David Kubien, a biochemist at the University of New Brunswick. When Cavanagh did, the phenomenon immediately captivated her and hasn’t let go since. Now at the University of Essex, Cavanagh