The energy that plants capture from sunlight through photosynthesis provides the source of nearly all of humanity’s food. Yet the process of photosynthesis has inefficiencies that limit crop productivity, especially in a rapidly changing world. A new review by University of Illinois scientists and collaborators reflects on how improving photosynthesis can bring us closer to food security. The review, which was published in Cell, was coauthored by plant biology professors Stephen Long, Amy Marshall-Colon, and Lisa Ainsworth. With chemical and biomolecular engineering professor Diwakar Shukla and colleagues at eight partner institutions, they evaluated biological strategies to improve the efficiency of photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert sunlight to sugar in crop plants.

Researchers have developed a device that can precisely control laser light using a fraction of the power and space required today. Because it can be manufactured just like modern microchips, this tiny device could unlock quantum computers capable of solving problems far beyond the reach of today’s technologies.

In Mozambique, more than one in three children under five suffer from stunting, or impaired physical growth. New research from Santosh Kumar Gautam, associate professor of development and global health economics at the University of Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs, shows that improving access to safe drinking water can reduce the odds of stunting by about 20 percent, making it one of the most effective interventions for child growth.

Physicists at CU Boulder have developed a new material that is completely transparent but so good at blocking heat that you can use it to hold a flame in the palm of your hand.