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How researchers at UC Davis developed a new strain of rice to help farmers in Southeast Asia

Climate change may affect the production of rice as early as 2030, according to a study published this month in the Nature Food journal.
Villagers attempt to save their rice crops after last month's flooding in Bishan County on Aug. 9, 2007 in Chongqing, China. (China Photos/Getty Images)

Climate change is impacting a small but mighty and important grain — rice.

Global rice production will likely be hit by the devastating effects of climate change as early as 2030, according to a recent NASA study.

Among those trying to mitigate the losses of rice — the world's second. Her lab at the University of California Davis studies genes that control resistance to disease and tolerance of environmental stress in food crops.

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