Micro-CT; Imaris 3D visualization software
Jiayang Xie
Andrew Leakey Laboratory
Funded by the National Science Foundation
The seemingly subterranean glow seen here actually marks air cavities within the leaf of a maize plant, beneath the pores on the surface of the leaf that allow the plant to take in carbon dioxide and release water vapor. The more area within these cavities, the more the leaves can breathe. Images like this one help plant scientists explore the photosynthetic properties of different varieties of plants.
