Gene-edited rice may be able to grow on Mars

Gene-edited rice plants may be able to grow on Mars. Researchers have now identified a gene that, when modified, seems to give rice plants a better chance of surviving in harsh Martian soil.

Martian soil, or regolith, has fewer nutrients than Earth soil and contains compounds that can be toxic to some plants. To see how well rice can handle such conditions, Abhilash Ramachandran at the University of Arkansas and his colleagues grew rice seeds in a series of mixtures of regular …