The idea of ​​super-plants is awarded the

She hoped, fields with new varieties of plants that could withstand resilience and flooding could be a plentiful source of food for the world in the future.

Joanne Chory, the scientist's money, was included in the 2018 Breakthrough Award for Life Sciences. This is a prestigious award awarded annually to scientists created by the leaders, including Sergey Brin - co-founder of Google and Facebook developer - Mark Zuckerberg.

This award is considered as the "Academy Award of Science". Launched in 2012, the award aims to encourage scientific advances in areas such as life science, basic physics and mathematics. Mrs. Chory has won awards for research that she has worked hard for over 30 years. Research aims to find new ways to help plants grow healthier.

This plant is resistant to drought and this flood can be grown as food.

Currently, she is seeking to create a green leafy plant that can provide food for the whole planet and has the ability to draw carbon dioxide out of the air to combat climate change. Chory hopes that this drought-resistant and flood-resistant plant can be grown as food. Moreover, they can absorb 20 times the amount of carbon compared to perennial plants. "It will taste similar to chicken beans , " she said.

Chory estimates that it will take about ten years and $ 50 million to realize the species for this protein-rich plant . But our time is running out: meteorologists think that by the end of the century the Earth will heat up at least 2 degrees Celsius - compared to pre-industrial times.

"Our world is at a crossroads. We need to do something as soon as possible, to prevent global warming ," Chory said in Palo Alto after she won the prize.

The team's idea of ​​a plant capable of absorbing carbon is based on a polymer called Suberin. Suberin is known as a cork material. Suberin can absorb and retain carbon in hundreds or even thousands of years in soil without biodegradation. Therefore, a perennial plant containing Suberin can purify the air and provide more oxygen to the atmosphere. In particular, the roots of this type are resistant to flooding and drought, Ms. Chory added.

Create a variety of plants that help combat climate change.(Photo: Usplash).

Previously, Ms. Chory had found a new way to develop mutant buds without the need for light. She made some plants grow taller in the shade, by exposing their seeds to chemicals that alter DNA. Since then, she has discovered a new plant hormone called 'brassinosteroids'. Her other studies also help create many varieties of plants that are able to resist pathogens and grow in extreme conditions.

In order for the plant variety to perform its function, Ms. Chory estimates that it takes up to 5% of the world's arable land, equivalent to the area of ​​Egypt. With this area, new plant varieties can absorb 50% of global human-generated CO ₂ emissions.

Although only an idea, Chory thinks that this strategy may be better than trying to reduce CO ₂ emissions in other ways . 'I live in Southern California and no one here believes the amount of carbon can be reduced to 50% - including myself , " she said.

Chory admitted that she was not really good at farming, but she hoped that with many experimental varieties and failures, she would come up with new ways to improve the environment without changing the way. Her current life in California.