Photosynthesis Research Unit (PRU) -- The name seems pretty self-explanatory, perhaps conjuring up images of scientist-gardeners with dirt under their fingernails, working in state-of-the-art greenhouses, growing soybeans and corn under exotic artificial lights. So, when I sat down to interview four of the five researchers that head up the PRU -- a branch of the Agricultural Research Service, which in turn is a branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture -- I wasn't expecting to get caught up in a discussion that spanned so many diverse topics.

As we talked about their research we touched on issues ranging from global population growth to intricate computer models of a soybean plant's leaf canopy, from the growing import needs of China to global warming and rising CO₂ levels. But as fascinating and eye opening as those subjects were, the most astonishing was the idea of genetically engineering plants to act as factories for the production of . . . well . . . the implications are mind boggling, but that's getting ahead of the story.