Scientists have developed a rhizosphere-on-a-chip with a transparent, simulated soil structure that allows scientists to view how roots grow over time through the pores in the soil. Paired with ...

Now they have teamed with imaging specialists at the University of Dundee to capture high-magnification 3D images of roots, with a laser. The transparent soil combines transparent plastic ...

Fluorescent dyes can also be added to it to aid studies. Researchers say that the transparent soil could be used to study root systems, help breed crops with more efficient roots that need less ...

The solution, it now seems obvious, is to create transparent soil — and this is exactly what a team of researchers from the U.K. have done. The breakthrough will have implications to root ...