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Plant scientist Dale Sanders

How plant science can help to feed a growing global population, as the climate changes. Prof Dale Sanders talks to Jim Al-Khalili about his life and work.

Professor Dale Sanders has spent much of his life studying plants, seeking to understand why some thrive in a particular environment while others struggle. His ground breaking research on their molecular machinery showed how plants extract nutrients from the soil and store essential elements. Since plants can鈥檛 move, their survival depends on these responses. In 2020, after 27 years at the University of York, he became the Director of the John Innes Centre in Norwich, one of the premier plant research institutions in the world. Meeting the food needs of a growing global population as the climate changes is a major challenge. And, Dale says, it鈥檚 not only about maximising yields. We need crops that are more resilient and more nutritious. Drought resistant crop varieties, for example. And zinc-rich white rice. Dale talks to Jim about how plant science is helping to feed the world in a sustainable way and why plant scientists don鈥檛 always get the recognition they deserve.
Producer: Anna Buckley

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28 minutes

Last on

Mon 25 Jan 2021 00:32GMT

Broadcasts

  • Mon 18 Jan 2021 20:32GMT
  • Mon 18 Jan 2021 21:32GMT
  • Tue 19 Jan 2021 04:32GMT
  • Tue 19 Jan 2021 11:32GMT
  • Tue 19 Jan 2021 18:32GMT
  • Mon 25 Jan 2021 00:32GMT

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