National Geographic News, Reporting Your World Daily

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Photo: Gene-Altered Plant, Tree Can Suck Up Toxins


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A cutting from a genetically modified poplar tree sits inside a closed chamber filled with benzene gas, a pollutant associated with petroleum.

Researchers added genes from rabbit livers to increase the rate at which poplars can remove harmful compounds from the environment.

Photograph courtesy University of Washington