Hank: Plants gamble with their lives when they sprout. Germinating? In this economy? It's a huge risk for plants to take root in the absence of water, and with more droughts brought on by the global climate crisis, we're seeing more of our crops waiting until rain comes to emerge from the soil. The problem is, if they're too cautious, they can miss the growing season.

Luckily, researcher have found a way to trick them into getting started. Plant seeds have a protein called "FLOE1" that senses the presence or absence of water around them, and scientists have found a way to manipulate that protein and convince the seeds to be more daring about sprouting. An international group of botanists discovered the gene that makes this water-sensing protein and created a genetically modified plant with that gene turned off. That way, it can't stop the plants from growing, even in temporary drought conditions. So they take root and are ready for action when water comes.

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