San Francisco startup re-engineering tree cells to help fight climate change

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- We know that plants and trees are important because they produce oxygen while absorbing carbon dioxide. With cell manipulation, there are early signs this benefit can be made even better.

Living Carbon in San Francisco is re-engineering the cells of certain poplar and pine trees so that during photosynthesis, they're able to break down a naturally occurring toxic byproduct with less energy, thereby helping them to grow faster and to store more carbon.

600 trees have already been planted in Oregon with a goal to plant over a million acres. At that scale, it's estimated the cell-modified trees could offset about 2% of all global emissions.

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