New Scientist Podcasts
Weekly: How plant skin transplants could supercharge crops; China’s pollution win spikes global temperatures; the oldest ivory tools ever found
Apr 4, 2025
Madeleine Cuff, a journalist focusing on China's pollution impact, discusses several fascinating topics. She explains how skin transplants in plants could lead to hybrid crops that are more pest-resistant or tastier. Cuff also highlights the unintended consequence of China's pollution reduction, which, while boosting health, paradoxically spikes global temperatures. Lastly, she notes the discovery of 400,000-year-old ivory tools, revealing new insights into the intelligence and skills of our ancient ancestors.
27:10
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Quick takeaways
- The innovative method of plant skin transplants could significantly enhance crop resilience and quality through graft chimeras.
- China's successful reduction of air pollution has inadvertently contributed to global warming by removing aerosols that previously masked temperature rises.
Deep dives
Innovative Plant Grafting Techniques
Scientists have developed a groundbreaking method for grafting plants that involves transferring the outer 'skin' of one plant onto another, which can enhance traits like flower color and insect repellents. This technique, known as graft chimeras, allows for unique combinations of plant characteristics without traditional sexual reproduction. For example, a company in the Netherlands is exploring commercial applications for this process to produce more resilient food crops. This new approach could revolutionize agriculture by making it easier to create plants with desirable traits while preserving the genetic integrity of the original species.
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