Institute gets $35M to design plants to fight global warming

A nonprofit research institute in San Diego will receive more than $35 million to design plants to fight global warming.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports the grant from the TED Audacious Project will go to the Salk Institute for Biological Studies' Harnessing Plants Initiative, which looks to breed and genetically engineer plants to soak up more carbon dioxide from the air.

Salk plant scientist and initiative head Joanne Chory says plants already store CO2 — a greenhouse gas that climate scientists say contributes to increases in global temperatures — as part of their natural metabolism. Chory says the goal is to increase storage.

Chory says about 25% of the carbon dioxide added to the air by human activity could be removed.

Salk scientist Joseph Noel says prototype plants can be expected in a few years.