All of the carbon in our bodies, in food, and in the entire biosphere, results from the assimilation of carbon dioxide in photosynthesis by a single enzyme, known to biologists as Rubisco. Not surprisingly, given its importance, this protein is the most abundant in the world. Researchers from Lancaster University are working to improve the sustainable productivity of key crops in sub-Saharan Africa have discovered a new imperfection in the way Rubisco functions in cowpea and believe this imperfection is likely shared with other crops.