How we discovered a new type of wood - and how it could help fight climate change

By Raymond Wightman, Imaging Core Facility Manager, Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge
Jan Łyczakowski, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Plant Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University

For as long as scientists have studied trees, we have categorised them into two types based on the sort of wood they make. Softwoods include pines and firs and generally grow faster than hardwoods, like oaks and maples, which can take several decades to mature and make a denser wood.

However, our recent research has uncovered something completely new: a third category we’re calling “midwood”. This discovery could prove to be valuable in the fight against rising carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels in Earth’s atmosphere – the primary…

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