Scientists use AI to design plants that combat climate change

Researchers at the Salk Institute are using artificial intelligence (AI) to design plants that can combat climate changes capturing more carbon from the atmosphere.

For that, they created a tool called SLEAP, which analyzes the root system of plants. SLEAP is an easy-to-use AI software that tracks various root growth characteristics such as depth, width, and mass.

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Before SLEAP, manually analyzing these characteristics was time-consuming and laborious. SLEAP uses computer vision and deep learning to automatically process images, eliminating the need for time-consuming manual tagging.

With SLEAP, scientists have now created the largest catalog of plant root system phenotypes to date. This will help them identify genes associated with desirable traits, such as deep roots that can store carbon for long periods.

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Furthermore, SLEAP is free and easy to use, making it accessible to scientists around the world. The team hopes SLEAP will be used to study plants on Earth and even in space!

This use of AI to design plants that combat climate change is a great example of how different areas of science can come together to create innovative solutions.

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