Sending algae into space to probe plants in extreme environments

It may sound like the opening scene in a low-budget science fiction movie: Scientists send algae into space—some of it mutant—to see if it will grow. But an Agricultural Research Service scientist and an international team of researchers have in fact sent algae into a low Earth orbit to study the effects of space on photosynthesis and plant growth. The research, funded in part by the European Space Agency, is part of an effort to find new ways to produce food and biofuels in extreme environm