Whitehead Institute Member Jing-Ke Weng has conceived of a way to bioengineer plants so that they keep a significant portion of their carbon locked up, essentially permanently. If successful, the approach could be translated into practical applications that help reverse the increase in carbon that has prompted rising atmospheric temperatures. Seeing great potential in Weng’s concept, the Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment is underwriting a pioneering, three-year proof-of-principle project designed to produce prototype plants.